In Patrick Mahomes‘ first full season, he has given a glimpse into the brightest future any Kansas City Chiefs fan has ever been able to witness.
The Kansas City Chiefs are one of the NFL’s truly historic franchises, from their AFL years down in Dallas and the upstart of the NFL to the very first Super Bowl and their consistent winning ways of the ’90s.
Many great players have come through Kansas City in that time. Len Dawson is an iconic hero amongst Chiefs fans. Being the only Super Bowl-winning quarterback for Kansas City, he has held the keys to Arrowhead since it was built—all while drinking a Fresca and smoking cigarettes on the sidelines.
Bobby Bell, Buck Buchanan, Willie Lanier, Emmitt Thomas, Deron Cherry, Derrick Thomas, Neil Smith, and Albert Lewis are among the defensive stars that have donned a Chiefs jersey. Offensively, Dawson is joined by names like Abner Haynes, Jan Stenerud, Nick Lowery, Christian Okoye, Marcus Allen, Will Shields, Priest Holmes, Jamaal Charles, Larry Johnson, Tony Gonzalez, and a short stint of Joe Montana.
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None of the above names, none, have had the hype and pressure of Patrick Mahomes. He was expected to be good, then he was expected to be great, and now he’s expected to cure every Chiefs fan of what ails them—a string of playoff victories and a Super Bowl win. Maybe more?
It isn’t just Mahomes that has fans going wild. The weapons around him are wishes that have come true. The Chiefs have always had talent at certain positions, but they’ve never had the type of talent they do now.
Tyreek Hill is earning mentions among the elite receivers in the NFL. His speed and the level of excitement he brings to each play is unmatched. Travis Kelce is arguably the best tight end in the NFL. Those are nice weapons to have if you’re a young quarterback.
Even the secondary characters get the job done—guys like Demarcus Robinson, who on Sunday was on the receiving end of Mahomes’ record-breaking 89-yard throw. Damien Williams has also been a nice fill-in at the running back position late in the season.
Even though the defense hasn’t been anywhere close to even the league-average that fans would like to see, the Chiefs have been able to go 12-4 in the first year of the Mahomes era. Dee Ford, Chris Jones, Justin Houston, and a slew of other guys you may or may not remember 20 years down the road have done enough to keep the team’s proverbial head above water, mostly.
In year one, which is what this season is, we have seen a boy mature into a man almost overnight. Mahomes has taken more than a team under his wing, but also a city and a desperate fan base. He has done everything right. He’s said everything right. He’s accessible. He’s made Kansas City his own.
Fortunately, there’s every reason to believe he’s just getting started. Analysts try their best to create quarterback comparisons that fit, but if they flip the script, they couldn’t find one single quarterback to compare to Mahomes. His leadership skills, maturity, knowledge of the game, God-given talents, and his innovation are all unprecedented. Week after week, he is doing something that we’ve simply never seen before—from no-look passes and left-handed throws to sidearmed bullets and deep bombs while his feet aren’t even touching the ground.
Since the mid-’80s, this Chiefs fan has had hope. There have been ups and downs. Great coaches have come through Kansas City almost as commonly as great players. Marty Schottenheimer had the Chiefs winning every season, only to get exit quickly in the playoffs or have some kicker miss.
This team, however, is special. The loudest fans in the world now have a real reason to be loud. There has never been a more exciting or promising time to be a Kansas City Chiefs fan. For those of us that have waited for a very long time, our patience is about to pay of—both now and for the next 10 to 15 years to come.