The Ringer NFL Show - 0-2? Yes. But Don't Bury the Chiefs Just Yet, With Nora Princiotti

Episode Date: September 15, 2025

Sheil and The Ringer’s own Nora Princiotti get together to talk about how concerned we should be with the Chiefs’ rough first couple of weeks of the 2025 season, and break down the silver linings that should see them right the ship going forward. (0:00) Intro/cold open (2:14) What is the panic level in Kansas City? (7:05) How many ways can the Chiefs win? (14:11) Patrick Mahomes’s 2025 narrative (18:33) Which teams wouldn’t swap situations with the Chiefs? (22:53) The Hurry-Up: Joe Burrow’s injury The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.rg-help.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Host: Sheil KapadiaGuest: Nora PrinciottiProducer: Chris SuttonSocial: Kiera Givens and Brian WatersProduction Supervision: Conor Nevins and Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Ringer NFL show. I'm your host, Shield Capadia. Wild endings around the NFL on Sunday. But maybe the biggest story, the defending AFC champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, are in a spot they've never been in with Patrick Mahomes. Oh, and two, after a loss to the Eagles, are they cooked? Are they fine? Is it somewhere in between?

We're going to talk about it all with my friend, Nora Princiotti. But Nora, before we start, I mean, let's just get to the question on everyone's mind. Your analysis of Travis Kelsey's pregame fit tonight. Today. Oh, no. Oh, Travis. Look, I don't love a shorts look. But I understand it was a warm afternoon.

But I don't love a shorts look. And for my sanity and the sanity of those I care for in the Swifty community, we'll leave it at that. Okay. There you go. Suit up top. Shorts below. Travis Kelsey. Tough game for Travis Kelsey.

We're going to get to that. We're going to talk Kansas City Chiefs. We'll take a break. We'll come back and do it. This is the Ringer NFL show presented by Fandul, and the NFL is officially backed. So if you're going to be in it, be in it with Fandul. They've got the goods, futures, live betting, SGPs, Your Way bets, all of it. The apps clean.

It's fast. And yeah, when you win, you get paid instantly, which is nice. because Sunday patience doesn't exist. So get your bets in, build something bold, and make every game feel bigger. Download the Fandul app or head to fandul.com slash ringer NFL to get started. The ringer is committed to responsible gaming.

Please visit RG-Help.com to learn more about the resources and help lines available. And listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Must be 21 plus and present in select states. We're 18 plus and present in D.C., Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800 gambler or visit RG-Helphel.com. Call 1-88-78-8-9-7777-7 or visit ccpg.org slash chat in Connecticut. Paid endorsement. All right, we're back on the ringer NFL show. So let's get into this, norm, because I do think this is the story that everyone's going to be talking about this week.

The Chiefs lose to the Eagles today. They lost to the Chargers in week one. They're 0-2. They've just never been in the spot before with Patrick Mahomes. What is the appropriate level of panic for the Kansas City Chiefs? So like panic is a big word, right? Like I don't think a team with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback really like ever needs to panic because they're always going to be in the upper 20% of the entire league. Like they're always a almost surefire playoff team. But like if the concern is. is this team, the team that like the nerds were sort of banging the hammer all last season?

Like they're winning all these one score games. They're going to regress. It's a it's a mirage. It's not real. Like then yeah, I think there's some genuine worry that that they're on the other side of that curve. I feel like you and I have probably talked about the Chiefs more than any other team since I joined the ringer many years ago. And I'm with you.

As someone who has been wrong about the chiefs and counted them out, I'm here to tell you, don't bury the chiefs yet. It's two games and two things can be true here. They're not a very good team right now. They're not seven AFC teams better than the chiefs. So I think they're going to get into the playoffs,

despite all the stats about 0 and 2 and all that. I think they're going to be the exception. And if they get into the playoffs, they still have Patrick Mahomes. So I was trying to drill down on this a little bit more. And I think offensively, it's been years now where it just kind of felt ugly. Everything's felt hard, self-inflicted mistakes. You saw that in this game against the Eagles.

It really looked a lot like last year. But I actually think there are some differences. And one of them is, they are throwing the football down fields more this year than they were last year. And they're producing those explosive plays at a higher rate this year than they did last year. And they've just, they've just kind of missed on some of them. And I know you're saying, all right, well, last year they missed on them. I feel like last year, those plays weren't even really available to. them and it was so hard for them to just like create an opportunity downfield. And I think it's different this year. So I don't think Patrick Mahomes is all of a sudden turned into like a bad downfield passer. I don't think that's a thing. I think he's missed on some. There's some new

wide receivers. And so that to me has been a big difference this year as compared to last year, maybe even the year before. Yeah. And you would figure that, you know, when they get rice back, when they get even worthy back, some of that gets easier that way too. I'm, I'm with you. on that mostly. I do think that even if that's the case, like, it's hard to see this offense unless they find a more consistent running game, not having to live in this kind of feast or famine universe that is pretty similar to me to how it was last year. And so I don't think it's going to like transform overnight and all of a sudden it's going to be the explosive, you know, high scoring chiefs again, which does bring me to the point where I am.

more concerned about them, or at least, I think that they have weaknesses that they didn't have last year, that last year's team didn't have. And I think if you're a Chiefs fan, that's something that should genuinely worry you, if not quite rise to the state of panic. Because I thought their defense played a lot better today than they did in week one, certainly, especially in terms of coverage. The coverage was, for the most part, I thought, great. I do think that it's kind of two weeks in a row where it seems pretty clear to me that Spags doesn't think that they can get pressure with four and that blitzing is the only sort of route for for this roster to have a solid enough pass rush to get by on a weekly basis in the NFL. And to me, given the fact that

where their offense has been is required a certain level of play from the defense or in moments like the Super Bowl when that wasn't there, everyone saw how that ended. That to me is like actually a little bit scarier than some of the stuff about the offense because I do think they're always going to have my homes, give it a little bit of time, they're going to get some of these playmakers back, like they just have this track record of being able to get by. Whereas if they have to go through the year without being able to get reliable pressure on opposing quarterbacks, like I do think that that kind of like takes one of the major Jenga blocks out of the formula that they've had. It's a good question of how many different ways can they win.

This version of the Chiefs, how many different ways can they win? I think to your point, yeah, with the four-man pass rush, are they going to be able to do that consistently? Probably not. Do they have the bodies on the back end in the secondary to cover if they are blitz-heavy? Today they did. I mean, it was very impressive. If you look at it, this was one of the Eagles' worst games with Jalen Hertz

offensively in like the last two years, three years, whatever it is. They had under 100 total passing yards. So I do think that's a good point. Like Spags after last week, I think we're all looking around going, is this Chief's defense going to stink? Like Justin Herbert just absolutely picked them apart. And that was different in week two. We're like, no, no, no, this guy still has his fastball.

He can still come up with stuff to confuse an opposing offense and have their defense look like that. So I think that's important. I think your other point about the supporting cast is a huge one. Because I think this is the formula. If you want to be on team like, hey, settle down. They're going to figure it out. The chiefs that are going to be playing in December, theoretically,

could look very different than the guys who took the field today. Xavier Worthy could come back healthy. Rishi Rice is going to come back from suspension. There's a lot of stuff going on with Tyreek Hill, but is there a Tyreek Hill trade at some point before the deadline if the Dolphins situation keeps going downhill? So from a personnel standpoint, it could look different. And then we have to remember that the floor of a Mahomes-led offense,

as you were saying, the first question, is still higher than like three quarters of the NFL. When you look at it the last two years, they finished eighth in offensive efficiency, where there are teams who would do all kinds of crazy and weird things just to get to eighth in offensive efficiency. So I want to be clear, they have not played well. I don't necessarily like watching them.

They're not as good as the best chiefs we've seen before, but I do think there's going to be some overreaction this week that I don't necessarily agree with. I think their formula is stay afloat, get in the playoffs, hope you've figured some things out by then and maybe have some different players by then. And teams are still not going to want to play them once it comes playoff time.

I think that's totally true. Here's what I will say to you. You and I both have known this feeling that I think like everybody in the NFL has had for years at this point of you're in August, you're doing your predictions, you're doing your picks. And it's like, all right,

I'm just writing the chiefs in because I'm going to look stupid if I don't do this. And by this point, you know, given how they looked last year, I think a lot of people were off that. I did not pick them. I'm not nervous about that. I don't feel weird about it. I don't have like a pit in my stomach.

Because I think that even if something happened, like I just, I don't think that this team looks like a team where I'm ever going to feel embarrassed for not having been like, yeah, obviously they're going to win the Super Bowl. I did kind of, I laughed at this. I saw Bill Barnwell tweet this out, but there are three teams in the history of NFL who have started O and two and won the Super Bowl.

And now obviously that's an incredibly high bar, but it's also the bar that the chiefs have set for themselves. Like we're saying, like talking about them as if they, you know, might not get a wildcard spot or something feels totally pointless. Like they have Mojams. They're going to be fine. But those teams that started O and two and won the Super Bowl were the 1993 Cowboys. and on the 1993 Cowboys, Emmett Smith was holding out in weeks one and two.

So you have this like obvious thing that changes. The 2001 Patriots where Tom Brady made his first start in week three. And then the Giants in 2007 who like don't have a thing like that. But two out of the three teams, you do have this like very clear catalyst to a turnaround. And now I guess you could say that getting some of those playmakers on the offense back in, like if they have Rishi Rice and Xavier Worthy in the lineup, is Travis Kelsey even getting that target on the past that becomes the interception? Like probably not at this point given where he is in his career.

And so maybe you could argue that those things are those kinds of difference makers. But I don't know that like I don't totally know about that, right? Like those are good players, but they're not like top, top, top number one receiver in the NFL type of guys. So it feels pretty tenuous, but only when we're talking in the context of the very lofty goals that the chiefs have sort of set for themselves year and year out at this point. Yeah, it's hard to know whether any of the absences they have rise to that. It feels like they don't. I'm with you, that they don't rise to that level at the same time.

I could see a step, you know, Rishi Rice comes back. And then it's like where she rise from when he came back to the end of the season was the 10th leading receiver in the NFL. Like I could see something like that, but they still have to get through four games before he comes back. I'm glad you mentioned the Kelsey thing because there's so much randomness, and I feel like we always try to account for it when we're talking about football, but it's like there were two plays in this game.

You know, they're at the Eagle 6 yard line in the fourth quarter, a touchdown gives them the lead, and the ball bounces off of Travis Kelsey's hands into Drew McCuba's hands for an interception. That's one. And then the Eagles have a third and 10 Spag Springs of Blitz. And Jalen Hirsch is like, he keeps it down. It was Devante Smith down there somewhere. And he wins a jump ball against Trent McDuffie.

So those are the types of plays where it feels like in previous years, just anecdotally when you're remembering, you're like, oh, those plays would all usually go the Chief's Way. And they didn't go the Chief's way here. And the Eagles deserve credit for making those plays. But it's just the randomness, like last year, there were 10 and 0 in games decided by seven points or fewer. And this year, they're already 0-2.

But to me, if I'm a chief saying, I'm like, they're in every game with Mahomes. Like they almost, a couple Super Bowls aside, they almost never get blown out. So it's like in the regular season, if you look at it, it's like 5% of the time, they've lost by more than seven points.

So it's just like when you're in that many games, I feel like you're going to be able to hang around enough to sneak into the playoffs at some point at the end of the season. Can I give you one more point of just like, like got my eye on it. Yeah. So I don't want to hang Harrison Buckker out to dry here too much for missing a 57-yard field goal, but he missed an extra point in week one.

And then he missed a kick today. Like at some point, that does become a little bit of a situation to watch. Yeah. I was reading some Chiefs coverage, like preparing for the pod. And they were like, Butker always makes it. And I was like, man, we live in a world where she's like 57-yard field goals.

You got to, you know, and we saw that. all over the NFL today. It's crazy how good the kickers are. All right. I want to take a break. I want to come back. And I feel like the Mahomes narrative is now something that I'm interested in. I think some people are tired of,

but I want to get your take on where this season could go for Patrick Mahomes. All right. We're back on the Ringer NFL show. So I know there's Mahomes fatigue. Listen, I feel like I have some awareness of what the general football watching populace is annoyed with or tired of. But as team, I think this is a very interesting like two months for Patrick Mahomes, one of the all-time

greats in his prime, 30 years old. He's playing these games. Like they're the AFC championship. Like he lowered his shoulder today. He's scrambling all over the place. And now there's actual doubt. You know, he always has that perceived doubt as many of the greats do. Oh, they didn't believe in us. All that. It's like, no, now there is actual doubt. You're 0 and 2. And what are you going to do about it. What's this going to look like for the next two months? Now, if your teammates can't block or catch or whatever, I understand that doesn't matter. But there is a scenario where we see like a different version of Patrick Mahomes and he goes to a level and that becomes the story in November and December. What are the odds or are you interested in that? Or are you like, nope, I'm just kind of

bored with it and I don't want to watch them on national TV anymore. No, I'm interested. I'm definitely interested in it because I was interested to hear both Mahomes and Kelsey made comments in leading up to the game basically about how like things have been pretty cushy around there for a while and how the experience of losing some games like might sort of toughen them up a little bit. And I thought that came through in how he was playing in the lowering the shoulder and a little bit of the like, we have to be, we can't play like front runners. Yeah, they're not good enough. They're not good enough to do that.

And I think that's an interesting, I think that's an interesting frame of mind to watch someone like Mahomes in who obviously has the command of that team, but isn't the most like aggressive person normally, like doesn't come across that way, at least, you know, as a, as an outsider, I don't know what people in the locker room would say about that. I do think it'll be interesting to watch over the next few weeks, particularly if this takes like a real tumble, because then we've known, like, that's unprecedented. This is in some ways unprecedented for them.

It is. They've now lost as many games this season as they did all of last year, right? So we're seeing them in a new context. But if things start to snowball, like you see Kelsey get pretty frustrated. And he's always been like that. but there are there are mixtures of personalities here that we just we just haven't seen

what it would be like in that sort of circumstance true yeah there's no doubt about it I want to watch a good chiefs team like I want to watch an explosive offense I want to watch them figure it out but like either way I do think it'll be pretty interesting

yeah we haven't seen it and I as we're talking I'm like am I going too far over the top maybe no one thinks they're actually going to miss the playoffs But it's like we watch it and it doesn't look right. And it hasn't looked right for a while now. And I'm still like, well, they still did go to the Super Bowl last year, even though all season it didn't look right.

So again, to me, it's just about the floor when you look at it. There are certain quarterbacks Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Al. Those guys, when they're healthy, you're winning 70% of your games. For Mahomes, it's 79% of his games. When he's healthy on the field in the regular season, they win 79% of their games. So even if this is the worst version of that, I still think that they're going to be good enough to kind of move forward here and figure things out.

And like I said, stay afloat and then eventually turn into the team you think you can be. And that might not be a great team. I made the prediction before the season. I said they're not going to go to the AFC championship game. Now, you've heard me make those predictions before and they've been horribly wrong. And then we do podcasts from the Super Bowl. And we're like, oh, we're talking about the Chiefs again here. But, you know, like you said, I feel pretty good about that one.

Right now, I'm not predicting that they're going to get to the Super Bowl, just that they can be in the mix and that they can be a relevant team. Like, if you're a Ravens fan, how about this exercise? If you're another AFC team, like a fan of another AFC team, who are the ones that wouldn't swap places with the Chiefs right now? So, probably. For this season? For this season?

Just this season. Just this season. So Ravens fans would they say, hey, you can swap places with the Chiefs right now, everything. You move them all the ball. No. No. Buffalo.

No. Is there another team that would say no? So if you look at the AFC championship odds here, the chiefs are still third. Below them are the Chargers, the Texans, the Broncos, the Colts, the Steelers, Jaguars. Now I'm getting deep down there. Is there another one that would say no? Probably there isn't one, right? Yeah.

So that kind of just puts it into the context, I think we're talking about. Like maybe the Chargers. But it's hard. That's hard to. Yeah. That's interesting. If we pulled 100 Chargers fans, how many would say?

They would say, I actually don't know the answer to that. They would say, she'll look into my eyes, see the darkness, see the things that I've seen. They'll be like, talk to me after Monday night in Vegas. I'm not answering any of your questions until that game. So yeah, if you look at it here, going forward, that's what it looks like. You know, they're not the favorites to win the NFC West right now, the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chargers are. Now, again, we're recording this before that Monday night football game, but that's pretty interesting right there.

So what's the over-under for Chiefs wins this season? If I set it at nine and a half, are you going over-under? I'd take the over. 10 and a half are you going over-under? I'd take the under. I feel, you know what, this is the most boring possible answer, but it is the one that I believe in. I think last year they were a 15 win. They were a, I think last year they were probably a 12 win team that won 15 games.

And this year they might be a 12 win team that wins 10 games. And they're still kind of the same team. That's the thing. I do think they are the same team. And that sounds crazy to say for a 15 and 2 team and an 0 and 2 team, I don't think they're that much different or I don't think they're going to be that much different when all is said and done. I think I settle where you're at.

I think this may be a 10-win season. They play the bills on November 2nd. I was looking at their schedule. They get the Giants next week, by the way. Sunday-Noy football. Oh, yeah. Shiel, I'm going. Oh, yes. All right.

Boots on the ground. I like it. It's in New York, I assume. Yes. Yes. And let me tell you that I do not look at that. My loved ones are New York Giants fans. And I do not look at that game as like a get-right game for the Giants.

I do not think that that's going to be a vulnerable spot for Kansas City. I will be having a very different conversation next week if the Chiefs go to MetLife Stadium and lose to the Giants in that game. So yeah, I think they'll win that game. I was looking down the road. They play the bills on November 2nd. Get to that game like no worse than 4 and 4. You know, it's a different spot for them.

It's stay in the mix. Thanksgiving. You're like in that six and you're one of those six and five teams. and then, you know, you get hot down the stretch or you win enough games down the stretch. Yeah, and Mahomes is going to, like, you know, they're going to win one or two games because he's going to scramble at the last second for something and it's always just enough. Like, he's still, he had like three or four of those plays today. Yes.

Right? Like, it's still, it's still there. I don't think that they're a powerhouse, but I also don't think that they stink. They're just a regular, good old team that should make the playoffs. Just like the rest of us. Just like the rest of you listening. That's right. Yeah, they're not that juggernaut.

That's always at the playoff spot. Clinched early and is the one seed. And you can't believe they win every game. There's some vulnerabilities to this team now. And it has become one of the biggest stories in the NFL. All right. Thank you to Nora Prenciotti. Let's see if we're right or wrong.

A week from now, MetLife Stadium. Russ, Mahomes. Get ready. Chris and Tariko are going to be fired up for that one. All right. Thanks to Nora Princiotti. for joining us this Sunday night on the Ringer NFL show. I'll be back in a moment with the hurry.

And now it's time for a special part of today's episode brought to you by NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. NFL Sunday Ticket has awesome features to help you stay on top of all the action like Multi-View where you can watch up to four games at once. Disclaimer, device, and content restrictions apply. But I got to tell you, I was using the Multi-View today. and one of the games I had on was Bengals Jaguars. It was a close game that came down to the end.

But unfortunately, I saw Joe Burrow leave that football game. And this is the big piece of news in the NFL coming off of Sunday's games. According to NFL Network, Burrow is feared to have suffered a grade three turf toe injury that will require surgery and sideline him for at least three months. So he'll get second options. But according to this report from NFL Network, The Bengals are bracing for Burrow to be out for a big chunk of the season, which of course is a big bummer for Bengals fans.

And listeners of the show know that I'm a big Burrow fan, but unfortunately, if he actually does miss three months, this will be three of his six NFL seasons that have been seriously impacted by injuries. He played 10 games in 2020 and he played 10 games in 2023. So we know what the most obvious outcome is here. it's that the Bengals season is probably going to go sideways. They're probably cooked. They're not going to be relevant. And they're looking ahead to 2026. That's usually what happens when you lose a great quarterback.

And this is a team. The defense isn't very good. They've got O line issues. They're not really a team that could win in different ways. But if you're a Bengals fan and you're still listening, maybe you just turned it off because you were too bummed out. But if you're still listening, there is a glass half full case. And let me make it for you.

You went four and three. with Jake Browning as your starting quarterback in 2023. That offense finished like 11 in the NFL. So he was able to keep them afloat. So you're not just throwing in any backup there. He's played. He knows the scheme. He started games.

You still have Jamar Chase. You still have T. Higgins. And you do have a two and no cushion. It's not like you have no margin for error here. So if you can go something like six and six with Jake Browning, over the next three months, maybe you're eight and six, and then Burrow comes back in December. It's not the most likely scenario.

I feel like I'm just being very nice to all these teams today, but it's not the most likely scenario. It's not an easy schedule, but maybe it's not the craziest thing if he went four and three a couple of years ago that he could go six and six and keep your season afloat. So that's what you have to hope for if you're a Bengals fan. If Joe Burrow indeed does have the surgery and it's going to miss three months, and Jake Browning has to start.

Can he keep your team afloat before Burrow comes back and maybe is back in time for a playoff run? So sorry, but that's the best I can do, Bengals fans. All right, don't miss a moment of the action. Watch every game, every Sunday, all in one place with NFL Sunday ticket on YouTube TV. And right now you can get NFL Sunday ticket month to month and cancel any time.

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