ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — A week after the Christmas Day fiasco against the Raiders, a shuddering third loss in four games, the Chiefs mustered one touchdown against Cincinnati.

But they prevailed, 25-17, with a boost from six Harrison Butker field goals, more of the defense that proved a revelation … and a jaw-dropping compromise articulated by superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes:

“I thought I did a great job of just when it wasn’t there deep, get it to underneath guys (and) try to get the first downs. If not, we can punt, man.”

Uh, how’s that now?

“I know that’s not how I’ve always rolled,” Mahomes said with a smile as he began to repeat the heresy that somehow didn’t make his head suddenly spin around.

“We can punt. Defense gets us the ball back, and we’re going to find ways to win football games.”

Making the concession to contour their style to truly complementary football was nimble and astute under the circumstances for the Chiefs, who won their second straight Super Bowl and third in five seasons ... despite a once-breathtaking offense slogging its way to nearly 200 fewer points (565-371 … even with an extra game last season) than it had in Mahomes’ first season as QB1 — and 125 fewer than the season before.

True, the offense came through in the crucible of the Super Bowl, with Mahomes earning his third Super Bowl MVP.

But the dropsy-turvy, penalty-jumbled journey there is why Mahomes arrived at the Chiefs’ Missouri Western training camp last week and spoke about last season as if it were more a burden than a blessing:

“We really didn’t play football the way we wanted all year long,” he said. “It wasn’t fun.”

Anyone following the magical mystery tour of the Mahomes Era knows by now that he is inherently driven and forever forages for further motivation.

So it should be no surprise that the way last season went, including personal career lows in a number of key statistics, lodged in his grill and will fuel him.

Sure, they won the Super Bowl and all.

But the offense played almost a cameo role and often left them vulnerable.

So now Mahomes and the Chiefs want to prove the NFL missed its best chance to topple the still-bubbling dynasty.

“He always wants more,” coach Andy Reid put it last week.

Or as offensive coordinator Matt Nagy put it Wednesday: “There’s always some type of edge that we (create), and he creates. And I think internally for him, the biggest thing now is being able to be more efficient … as a unit on offense.

“Last year … being able to get through some of the challenges we went through and still win it creates (a) fire and burn for this year to be better on offense and help the team out in general.”

But this isn’t just some nitpicking luxury.

Or simply about restoring the lightning strikes and accompanying swagger that Mahomes has injected into the team — not to mention the city and a fan base.

Getting back that groove or juice or mojo or whatever you want to call it is essential to the Chiefs’ chances of becoming the first team to win three straight Super Bowls.

Not that the Chiefs wouldn’t welcome winning any way they can.

But the defensive breakthrough to one of the NFL’s most elite last year, second in both points and yards allowed, was the first time the Chiefs have been in the top 10 in both categories since 2015. It’s their first time in the top two of each since 1995.

It was an outlier, in other words, making it fundamentally hard to sustain.

And while there’s every reason to believe that the group will be formidable again this season, the loss of cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, along with linebacker Willie Gay and safety Mike Edwards, also is reason to anticipate some regression to the mean.

Which means that to compete for another Super Bowl, as we’ve come to simply assume the Chiefs will, the offense almost certainly is going to have to provide a semblance of the exhilaration we’ve come to know and expect of Mahomes and Co.

And that means less of the mindset of fewer thrills and frills and “let’s turn it over to the defense,” and more of a “let’s impose our will” approach.

At least that’s what I suggested to Nagy.

“I would agree with that,” he said.

Just how that will look when the season begins Sept. 5 against the visiting Baltimore Ravens — and, for that matter, by the time the regular season ends Jan. 5 at Denver — will be a work in progress.

But the seeds of what they want to cultivate are being spread here now, as made visible virally with Mahomes’ rolling-left fling to rookie Xavier Worthy for a 60-yard touchdown the other day.

The pandemonium around it, from fans to coaches to players, was entirely out of proportion for a feat so early in camp that players weren’t even in pads yet.

That part, which Nagy described as when “things become real,” starts Friday.

But the philosophical emphasis is apparent for an offense that added Worthy and free-agent speedster Hollywood Brown.

“I’m no philosopher,” Chiefs defensive back Joshua Williams deadpanned, “but they’re definitely throwing it a little deep.”

More than Brown remembers encountering during his five previous NFL camps with Baltimore and Arizona.

“Oh, yes, definitely,” Brown said. “We’ve got the guys to do it, Coach (Reid) is putting us in great position to do it. And, you know, Pat puts it on the money every time.

“So we’ve been lighting it up, and it’s been fun.”

There’s a long way between lighting it up here and doing it in games, and plenty of other variables to it — such as who’s the left tackle? — than just slinging it around now.

And Nagy’s right when he acknowledges that Reid likes to go deep in camp to air it out and see what’s what.

But it’s also true that the way to revive that once-mesmerizing offense is with both the sorts of personnel moves the Chiefs made and the urgency they’re putting on it here.

And with Mahomes consumed with atoning for the offensive mediocrity last season, don’t expect him to be relegated to thinking of punting as part of the offense again this season.

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