Are the Kansas City Chiefs too dependent on Patrick Mahomes?

The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Raiders in Oakland one last time Sunday, but should we worry that KC is relying on their star quarterback a little too much?

When the clock hit zero at the Oakland Coliseum on Sunday evening, the Kansas City Chiefs had defeated the Oakland Raiders 28-10. Football is the ultimate team sport where no one player can win a game by himself. That has always been the case and, as long as they play this game, I imagine it always will be. So while it is true that Patrick Lavon Mahomes II didn’t beat the Oakland Raiders by himself, I think it is also safe to say that the Chiefs wouldn’t have won the game without him.

I realize that this isn’t exactly a new concept in the NFL either. Lots of teams that won this weekend in the NFL could probably say that they wouldn’t have won without their starting quarterback. The difference is that their quarterbacks are doing normal “quarterback-ish” type things that you are used to seeing every week in the NFL, while Mahomes is playing a completely different game.

At one point on Sunday, television announcer Tony Romo made a comment that it seemed like the Chiefs offense was playing a video game (Madden) while the rest of the NFL is playing traditional football. While Andy Reid‘s offense and the talented arsenal of offensive playmakers for Kansas City certainly deserve credit for their roles, it simply wouldn’t be anywhere near this level of jaw-dropping production without their phenomenal quarterback who is literally rewriting the record books at every turn.

The second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Raiders was simply absurd. The way he closed the first half was unlike anything I had ever seen.

I understand that I’m a huge Chiefs “homer,” but I simply don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that Patrick Mahomes is playing quarterback at a level that we’ve never seen before. We’ve seen individual games like thi,s but he basically came out firing at an all-time great level last year, never let up, and now looks even better to start his second season. It’s remarkable.

So here’s my question:

Are the Chiefs relying on Patrick Mahomes too much? Do they need to focus on improving the running game and the defense if they have something this special going with Mahomes and the passing game?

The reason I ask is that the team I saw on Sunday was pretty mediocre on defense (more on that in a minute) and had basically no run game whatsoever (more on that, too). Should we care? Should I just shut up and enjoy watching the best quarterback play I have ever seen in 30 years of following the NFL? Part of me says, “Yes, quit worrying and enjoy the ride you idiot. You’ve been waiting for someone like Mahomes for three decades and now you want to worry about pass coverage and yards per carry in a road game your team won by 18 points? What’s wrong with you?”

Then there’s the other part of my brain that asks, “What if, come playoff time, we need the run game and defense to be better?” Mahomes had one of the best seasons in NFL history last season and we didn’t make the Super Bowl so clearly other aspects of the game have to matter some too. Right?

So let’s take a quick inventory of where this team is at when it comes to the passing game, the run game, and the defense after two weeks of game action.