Patrick Mahomes has taken the NFL by storm this season. This is no longer just a hot start. He’s been the best quarterback in the NFL. Period.
The Kansas City Chiefs continued their high scoring, record-setting, winning ways on Sunday as they steamrolled the Cleveland Browns 37-21. The game wasn’t even as close as the 16 point margin might suggest. The reason for that is that the Kansas City Chiefs offense was simply unstoppable. The Browns had no answer for them and no answer for KC’s young phenom quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.
At this point, the collective NFL world is running out of superlatives for Mahomes. We’ve heard all about his incredible talent, his unlimited potential, the record-breaking start to his career. With nine games in the books, the Chiefs are officially into the second half of their season. What Mahomes is doing now can no longer be classified as a “hot start” or even a “hot streak”.
We’re talking about over half the season and Mahomes has been remarkably consistent in his excellence. He’s clearly having the best season of any quarterback in Chiefs history. It’s now time to come out and say what we as Chiefs fans have been afraid to say out of fear of jinxing the type of amazing quarterback play that up until this point has only existed in our wildest dreams.
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Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL this season.
I imagine that this statement is going to elicit two main responses from the Chiefs Kingdom. The first being an enthusiastic, “You’re damn right he is!”. The second being the more measured “Whoa, whoa, whoa, let’s not get carried away. He’s been great but let’s see how the entire season plays out before we start making proclamations like that.” I totally get and respect both of those takes.
On one hand, why in the world would you not embrace and celebrate the fact that Patrick Mahomes has been the best quarterback in the NFL this season? On the other hand, we as Chiefs fans have seen so many years of disappointment, so many years of letdowns, so many years of unfulfilled expectations that it’s natural to want to keep our expectations under control out of fear of having our collective hearts broken once again.
But for those of you still trying to resist giving in to the full-fledged euphoria that is Patrick Mahomes mania, what you need to keep in mind is that most of those disappointments, let downs, unfulfilled expectations, and broken hearts happened because the Chiefs didn’t have THE quarterback to lead them to the promised land. The quarterback is where they fell short. Now the quarterback is THE reason to believe.
Will some people out there write this off as the giddy ramblings of a delusional Chiefs fanboy? Sure they will and frankly I’m not even going to argue the fact that I’ve never been so enamored with a Chiefs player. I loved Derrick Thomas in his prime. I loved Priest Holmes and Jamaal Charles in their primes. I still love Eric Berry and all he stands for and all he has overcome. That being said, I don’t know if I was ever as excited about any of those players as I am right now about Patrick Mahomes.
So go ahead and write off my claims of Patrick Mahomes being the best quarterback in the NFL like they were the lovesick gushings of a teenage girl writing Justin Bieber a fan letter telling him he’s the best singer ever. But here’s the problem: the numbers happen to back up the claims of this particularly devoted little girl.
Patrick Mahomes leads the NFL in passing yards and passing touchdowns. He’s leading the highest scoring offense in the NFL and his team is tied for the best record in the NFL. He has the highest QB Rating and QBR in the NFL. His 9.2 yards per attempt is amongst the highest in the NFL and while his 66.2 completion percentage and seven interceptions may not be the best in the NFL they are still good enough numbers that you can’t really use them as an argument against him.
Patrick Mahomes is not only the best quarterback in the NFL this season he’s on pace to have one of the greatest seasons of any quarterback in the history of the NFL. Through nine games he’s on pace to throw for 5,157.3 yards and 51.6 touchdowns. In case you aren’t up on your NFL history, those are truly historic numbers. Here are what I consider to be the four most prolific seasons by a quarterback in the history of the NFL and what Patrick Mahomes is currently on pace for.
Peyton Manning – 2013 – 5,477 yards, 55 TDs, 10 INTs, 68.3% completions, 8.3 yards/attempt
Drew Brees – 2011 – 5,476 yards, 46 TDs, 14 INTs, 71.2% completions, 8.3 yards/attempt
Tom Brady – 2007 – 4,806 yards, 50 TDs, 8 INTs, 68.9% completions, 8.3 yards/attempt
Dan Marino – 1984 – 5,084 yards, 48 TDs, 17 INTs, 64.2% completions, 9.0 yards/attempt
Patrick Mahomes – 2018 – 5,157 yards, 51 TDs, 12 INTs, 66.2% completions, 9.2 yards/attempt
The numbers don’t lie. Patrick Mahomes is having one of the best seasons in the history of the NFL. So why in the world should we feel nervous calling him the best quarterback in the NFL this season? It’s not like we’re saying that he’s the greatest quarterback of all time. He’s a decade or more away from even being able to consider that conversation and that’s assuming he continues to play great. But we’re not talking about greatest of all time we’re talking about who is the best quarterback in the NFL this season and the answer to that is Patrick Lavon Mahomes II. Period.
Jared Goff is having a great season. Patrick Mahomes is having a better one.
Drew Brees is having another fantastic year. Patrick Mahomes is having a better one.
Aaron Rodgers is having a great year. Patrick Mahomes is having a better one.
Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL and beat Mahomes in their head to head match up. Patrick Mahomes is still having a better 2018.
It’s not all about the numbers either. It’s how Mahomes does what he does. He avoids pressure. He extends plays. He makes ridiculous throws that even some of the most athletically gifted quarterbacks in the history of the NFL couldn’t make. He changes arm angles. He throws no-look passes. He throws LEFT HANDED for crying out loud. He is worthy of the hype. He is THAT good.
So embrace it Chiefs fans. Patrick Mahomes is everything we’ve been dreaming of. He is living up to the hype week after week. He is off to the best start of a career of any quarterback in the history of the NFL. He is literally rewriting the record books week after week. So don’t let your fear of disappointment prevent you from enjoying what we are seeing unfold before our eyes. Let the Patrick Mahomes mania wash over you like a tidal wave. It’s glorious. It’s amazing. It’s everything we’ve been dreaming of for decades and best of all…..it’s real and well deserved. After all, just because I’m a giddy little fanboy doesn’t mean that Patrick Mahomes isn’t the best quarterback in the NFL right now. Both things can be true.
I’m a massive Patrick Mahomes homer, but Patrick Mahomes is also the best quarterback in the NFL. Period.