Patrick Mahomes has challenged the Kansas City Chiefs to "get better" as they aim to win an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl.
In February, the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 to lift the Vince Lombardi trophy for a second consecutive year.
However, it did not look like they would even reach the showpiece match at times due to their inconsistent offense.
Mahomes threw 14 interceptions, the most in a single season in his career, while his receivers dropped 25 catchable passes, the most by any such group since the 2012 Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Chiefs entered the postseason as the number three seed in the AFC, their lowest since Mahomes became the starter in 2018.
Though they still got the glory in the end, the quarterback, who is entering his eighth year, is eyeing some big improvements to ensure they are in a better position to lift the trophy again this season.
"It's time to get better," Mahomes said at the start of the Chiefs training camp. "Every season starts differently.
"You've got to come in with that same mentality you had the year before, even with a higher intensity, and even though we won the Super Bowl last year, we felt like we didn't play our best football, especially offensively.
"So, it's our goal to be better that way and coming in with that mentality every single day.
"The end result [last season] was awesome, but I think a lot of us still have a weird feeling in our mouth.
"It wasn't fun every single week having to try to just continue to get better and better and the results not paying off the way you wanted to.
"It wasn't a lot of fun. We have a lot of those same guys back, and they know how that felt, and so we're going to try to prepare ourselves better this year so that we can play better throughout the season and obviously try to end with the same result."
While the offense were not at their best last season, the defense defined their run to the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs had the second-best defense in the league, allowing an average of just 17.3 points per game in the regular season, and Mahomes is confident they will play a part in improving the level of the squad.
"We added a lot of speed," Mahomes added. "What's better than going against our defense?
"It's the best defense in the NFL, and we get to go against them every single day and really show where we're at and how we can get better."
The Chiefs will kick off the new season against the Baltimore Ravens on September 5.
'Jackson will become greatest ever quarterback' - Harbaugh passionately defends Ravens' star man
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh believes Lemar Jackson will become the "greatest quarterback ever to play in the history of the NFL".
In February, at 27, Jackson became the youngest-ever two-time NFL MVP since the AFL merger.
Since he joined in 2018, he has led the Ravens to their best records in the league, going 14-2 in 2019 and 13-4 last year. In the regular-season, Jackson has the second-best record at 58-19 (.753).
However, he has been known to struggle in the postseason, losing four of his six playoff games, including the AFC Championship game against eventual Super Bowl winners Kansas City Chiefs last season.
When asked about Jackson's failure to reach the showpiece game, Harbaugh passionately defended the quarterback, reiterating the team's faith in him.
"There's a lot of great things said about Lamar, but there's a lot of stuff that's said that you just got to scratch your head about and kind of wonder, 'What's that person even thinking?'" Harbaugh said on Sunday. "But we take it personally.
"All his life, Lamar Jackson has been a guy who's been answering those same questions.
"I'm talking about since he was a kid. Junior high, high school, college, the draft. The success he's had in the [NFL], again, it still comes up.
"OK, now he's still growing. He's got a growth mindset. He's going to get better and better, no doubt. But what does he have to do to prove himself to some people? Right?"
"The vision that we have together is that Lamar Jackson is going to become and be known and be recognized as the greatest quarterback ever to play in the history of the National Football League.
"It's going to happen by Lamar, his work ethic and his brilliant talent, by all of us pouring into that effort together as a team and by the grace of God and God's goodwill."
Since being picked by Baltimore in the 2018 NFL draft, Jackson has run more yards than any other quarterback (5,258) and has thrown 125 touchdown passes in 77 starts.
The Ravens will kick off the new season against the Chiefs on September 6.
NFL star wide receiver Aiyuk reportedly requests trade from 49ers
Brandon Aiyuk had been seeking a contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers.
Now he's seeking a trade.
Unable to reach a new deal, Aiyuk has reportedly requested a trade from the 49ers.
The news was first reported by NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo on Tuesday.
Aiyuk and the 49ers reportedly haven't discussed a contract extension since May, prompting the star wide receiver to ask the team to trade him.
Finding a trade partner could be difficult, however, seeing as he's presumably looking for a long-term deal that will pay him like one of the top receivers in the NFL.
He's also still under contract in 2024, due to make $14.1million in the option year of his rookie deal.
The 26-year-old is coming off a huge season, earning second-team All-Pro honours while ranking seventh in the league with a career-high 1,342 receiving yards. His average of 17.9 yards per catch ranked second in the NFL, while his 16 receptions of 25 or more yards trailed only Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins.
Since being drafted 25th overall in the 2020 draft, Aiyuk has 269 receptions for 3,931 yards with 25 touchdown catches in 62 games.
Bengals wide receiver Higgins to sign franchise tag
After months of speculation regarding where Tee Higgins would play in the 2024 NFL season, the star wide receiver will officially remain with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Higgins will sign his franchise tag with the Bengals on Saturday, and is expected to be present when the team begins training camp next month.
The signing was first reported by Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer, and later confirmed by NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.
Higgins had the franchise tag placed on him by the Bengals on February 26, and then asked to be traded a few weeks later.
In early April, however, he then said he intended to play for Cincinnati in 2024.
By signing the tag, which will pay him $21.8million in salary for the upcoming season, Higgins and the Bengals have until July 15 to work out a multi-year deal.
Higgins is coming off an injury-marred 2023 season, as he was limited to just 12 games due to ailments to his hamstring and ribs.
He finished the year with 42 catches for 256 yards and five touchdowns after back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2021 and 2022.
The Bengals reached the AFC conference championship game in those two seasons before finishing last in the AFC South in 2023 with a 9-8 record.
A second-round pick by Cincinnati in 2020, the 25-year-old Higgins has 257 career receptions for 3,684 yards and 24 touchdowns in 58 games in his first four pro seasons.
The Bengals are scheduled to open training camp on July 26.
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