It has been a week filled with good news for the Kansas City Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who will travel with reinforcements to face the reeling Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon.
Kansas City (6-2), which will be seeking its first road win in six weeks, added wide receiver Josh Downs in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday in hopes of bolstering an offense coming off a season-high offensive output in a 35-12 victory over the New York Jets.
Perhaps equally important was the positive outlook on Mahomes’ availability for Sunday’s game in Atlanta. The superstar injured his throwing elbow while being sacked by New York’s David Bailey last week, but he gave an encouraging update on Wednesday, when he was a full participant at practice.
“I’ll be able to be out on the practice field, throw the ball and do all that different type of stuff and we’ll continue this process throughout the entire week so that I can be 100 percent on Sunday when we get to Atlanta,” Mahomes said. “It’s a process with a lot more time in the building, but that’s something that I’m willing to do.”
Mahomes has thrown for 2,037 yards and 14 touchdowns in eight games since returning from a season-ending torn ACL suffered last December. Aiding the Chiefs’ chances of returning to the postseason after an 11-loss campaign last year is the addition of Downs, who recorded 354 receiving yards in nine games for Indianapolis, a total that would trail only Travis Kelce’s 482 among Kansas City players.
“He’ll blend in with the other guys, but his strengths are his quickness, his speed, and he knows how to set routes up,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. Downs was acquired with a 2027 seventh-round draft pick in exchange for fourth- and fifth-round picks in 2027. “He does that very well. We saw that firsthand when we played him.”
Atlanta (3-6) enters with a bleaker outlook. The Falcons have lost consecutive games by a combined 33 points and traded away two starters this week, sending center Ryan Neuzil to the Baltimore Ravens and safety Jessie Bates III to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Despite their struggles, the Falcons remain in contention in the NFC South, where all four teams have three wins. Atlanta is tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and behind the division-leading Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints, who are both 3-5.
“I think our fans are smart enough to know that in no way, shape or form would we punt on this season,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “We have three wins, just like the rest of our division. Obviously, we’re not where we want to be. We want to play better. But we’re very much in the thick of this thing and we trust in the guys that we have.”
In two games since being named NFC Offensive Player of the Week, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is averaging just 143.5 yards passing and has been intercepted five times. The oft-injured third-year pro has struggled mightily when the pocket has broken down. Penix has completed just 18 percent of his passes under pressure this season, the lowest rate among qualified passers since ESPN Research began tracking the statistic in 2009.
“I think Mike’s an accurate passer and you see that in the games with the ball placement,” Stefanski said. “When there’s pressure, we as an offense have to look at that as an opportunity to make explosive plays. There’s a risk-reward when we, as defensive coaches, pressure, whether it’s five-man, six-man, seven-man. So, there’s opportunities for us. We’ll continue to coach it up and get better as an offense. But when it comes to being accurate, I think Mike’s done a really nice job.”
Kansas City defensive tackle Peter Woods (neck) and Jaylon Moore (ankle) didn’t practice on Wednesday.
Rookie wide receiver Zachariah Branch (hamstring), defensive end James Pearce Jr. (back) and linebacker Josh Woods (ankle) were non-participants for the Falcons.