Patrick Mahomes looked like a man who had been golfing in Hawaii. The sunglasses. The demeanor. The posture. It was all there in a recent interview with Bleacher Report while simultaneously hosting his first ever Aloha Golf Classic for his charity 15 & The Mahomies, one in which Mahomes looked like a man without a worry in the world. He also sounds like that when talking about the coming season for the K.C. Chiefs.
Mahomes recent cut out early from the last couple days of Chiefs offseason training activities to be able to make it to Hawaii in time to host the charity event (and likely enjoy some rest and relaxation). Chiefs guard Kyle Long, tight end Travis Kelce and comedian Rob Riggle were also on hand for the event.
During a short interview with Bleacher Report on site, Mahomes was asked about any records he wanted to break. His response sounded like it came from a man without a worry in the NFL world as well.
"“The only record I have my eyes set on breaking, which would be new this year, is going 20-0. That’s not really a record to be broken, I guess you would say. But I think 19-0 is the record right now, so being able to go 20-0, to be the first one to do that, that would be awesome.”"
Patrick Mahomes says his goal is a 20-0 record.
One important thing to note here is that the NFL officially extended the regular season to 17 games this year, which means the Chiefs would have to go 17-0 during the regular season and then 3-0 during the postseason after getting that first-round bye at the top of the AFC, just like they did this past season. Chiefs fans saw how difficult it was to do that this past year even with such a loaded roster. Several games down the stretch came down to a single score, and the Chiefs were also shocked by an upstart Las Vegas Raiders team in Week 5 that took quite a bit of pleasure in knocking off their AFC West rivals.
What complicates that scenario even more is that if the Chiefs are really undefeated late in December, they will likely enjoy a considerable lead over other teams for the first-round bye. If that’s the case, Andy Reid’s history says he’s pulling his starters, which would upset any real march toward perfection and/or other statistical goals for some players.
The Patriots went 18-0 back in 2007 before falling in the postseason, and the NFL’s only perfect record to stand remains the 1972 Miami Dolphins. The added game within the regular season makes things harder for Mahomes and anyone else, for that matter, to try to achieve perfection—as if it wasn’t already difficult given the rigors of an NFL season. The Chiefs would not only need a few lucky breaks to make that happen, but they’d also have to stay healthier than ever.
If the Chiefs were somehow able to go 20-0 this season, the march to a second Lombardi Trophy in three seasons would likely feel even more magical to fans knowing the difficulties in achieving such a lofty goal. And while it’s a long shot, to be sure, if anyone can do it, Mahomes would be that quarterback.