Patrick Mahomes just made one thing abundantly clear about Justin Herbert

In an improbable twist, the Kansas City Chiefs fell to 6-7 on the season with a 20-10 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday night. With a win next week, Justin Herbert and the LA Chargers can essentially end the Chiefs' season on their home soil.

This is the first time in Patrick Mahomes' career the Chiefs have been under .500 in December and it may be the first time he ever misses the playoffs. Nobody saw this coming after Kansas City once again represented the AFC in the Super Bowl last season.

Perhaps more surprising than all else is the fact the Chiefs have been dealt a relatively clean bill of health this season. Kansas City hasn't been ravaged by injuries like other teams in the playoff picture, such as the Chargers. Sure, there's been some injuries and a Rashee Rice suspension, but is has been far worse for other teams.

In fact, Mahomes and the Chiefs responded poorly to injury adversity on primetime against the Chiefs. Kansas City played without standout rookie tackle Josh Simmons on Sunday and Mahomes had one of the worst games of his career. By doing so, he unintentionally made his division rival look that much better.

Patrick Mahomes' stinker proved that Justin Herbert is simply built different

Mahomes cratered and had one of the worst games of his career the moment one of his starting tackles was out. Now imagine having to play essentially the entire season without both starting tackles and with an interior offensive line that rivals the worst in the league.

Herbert doesn't have to imagine. He is leaving that reality every single time he suits up for the Chargers. And while he hasn't been perfect, he's had a productive season that has led to an 8-4 record for the Chargers.

Look, the Houston Texans have possibly the scariest defense in football and it wasn't that long ago that it had its way with Herbert in the NFL Playoffs. And the Texans absolutely do the same to Herbert in three weeks that it did to Mahomes on Sunday night.

But that being said, Mahomes' performance still lost the game for the Chiefs. It was a winnable game for Kansas City and even 80% of the normal Mahomes performance would have gotten it done.

That has been the story of the Chiefs' season. Mahomes is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but he hasn't had the same magic that created the Chiefs' dynasty. The Chargers proved that in Week 1, which ended up being just a microcosm of Mahomes' entire season.

The playoffs are far from locked up for Herbert and the Chargers, and who knows, you can never rule the Chiefs out. But with how the two quarterbacks have handled adversity this season, it's hard not to like the Chargers' chances.