“It’s going to take your best football to beat great football teams, and we didn’t play our best football today and they went out there and beat us,” the Chiefs quarterback said after the game on Sunday, Nov. 17. Patrick Mahomes is not letting his team’s first loss of the season get him down.

The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback told reporters following Sunday’s 30-21 loss to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills that he will use the outcome of the game as a motivational “spark.”

“It’s a good football team, so there’s nothing to hang your head [about],” Mahomes, 29, said. “We feel like we can play better, so we will get back to work and try to use this as a spark so that we can be a better football team in the end.”

The signal-caller — who ended his day with 23 completions on 33 attempts for 196 yards and three touchdowns — remained optimistic about his now 9-1 team’s chances as they enter the second half of the season.

“I’m hoping that [losing] is a benefit. I’m not going to say I or we relaxed, but at the same time I feel like we were just coming away with these wins at the end of the game,” Mahomes said, referring to the team’s less-than-dominant play thus far, in which seven of their previous games this season were won by one score.

He continued, “I think it’s going to spark us to have more urgency, especially at the start of football games, especially with the offense, and that comes from me turning the ball over on the first drive. It’s something you can’t do in big games like this.”

Patrick Mahomes.

Michael Owens/Getty

While Mahomes marked his 40th career regular season game with three or more touchdown passes, teammate Travis Kelce had a quieter game with only two receptions for 8 yards.

Following the loss, the tight end, 35, was seen acknowledging the Bills’ play by applauding at the crowd.

Mahomes, too, had kudos for Buffalo.

“It’s going to take your best football to beat great football teams, and we didn’t play our best football today and they went out there and beat us,” he said. “That’s how it rolls in the NFL and so all due respect to them that’s going to be a good football team that we will probably see [in the playoffs].”

As for matching the 1972 Miami Dolphins’ benchmark year in which they won every game, Mahomes has loftier expectations.

“The undefeated thing was cool,” he said. “But that’s not our ultimate goal.”