ATLANTA — The Kansas City Chiefs are one of four NFL teams with a 3-0 record, but that was hard to say in the locker room after their 22-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night.

Patrick Mahomes in particular sounded a bit like a player whose team had lost.

“I feel like I haven’t played my best and it’s not a stat thing,” said Mahomes, who threw two touchdown passes but also had an end zone interception. “I just feel like I’m missing opportunities when they’re there and not throwing the ball where I want it to go. I’m not playing my best football and we’re still winning, so I’ve got to get better to make the offense better.”

The Chiefs maintained their lead in the fourth quarter with two defensive stops inside the Kansas City 15. Both times, the Falcons gave the ball away on downs.

Coach Andy Reid was a little more upbeat, but one of his comments after the game was about the offense putting the Chiefs in jeopardy by going three plays and out on their one drive between the two defensive stops.

After the Falcons scored a touchdown on the opening drive, the Chiefs mounted a methodical, time-consuming, 17-play drive that seemed destined to end with a score of their own. Instead, they came away with nothing when Mahomes threw the end zone interception to safety Justin Simmons, a former Denver Bronco who has six career picks against Mahomes.

No other player has more than two against him.

“Those are mistakes you can’t make in the red zone, and I seem to outpace Simmons every time I let him play,” Mahomes said.

The Chiefs have emphasized making more big plays on offense this season, but other than a 27-yard throw to Rashee Rice in the third quarter, their longest play was 17 yards.

Mahomes threw 39 passes but only managed 217 yards.

“It’s about getting back to my basics, putting our guys in position, and then we’ve got to execute at a higher level offensively,” Mahomes said. “If teams are going to put us on the field, we’ve got to prove that we can do it, and I’m sure we’ll see a lot of the same thing next week with (the Chargers game).”