Patrick Mahomes is still among the best (even at his worst)
By KC Proctor
The conversation around Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the season he’s having has been polarized. It is dominated by the naysayer “he’s broken” argument, and his proponent’s demand to acknowledge his ever-present intangible greatness. In reality, there are two main points to consider when evaluating the Chiefs quarterback in 2021: he is among the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks, and he is, indeed, a mortal man.
The “Mahomes is broken” theory isn’t completely unfounded, at least not for hot-take artists and Chiefs haters. This season serves as the floor of Mahomes’ career from a statistical standpoint. His 12 interceptions tie his previous season high record, set in 2018, and his QBR (56.5) and completion percentage (64.6) through 13 weeks are both career lows.
However, with 25 passing touchdowns and 3,384 yards on the books already, Mahomes will very likely surpass his 2019 season totals of 26 touchdowns and 4,031 yards. Take a moment now to consider that he was the league MVP in 2018, and the Super Bowl MVP in 2019. In other words, from the same statistical perspective, the Patrick stan’s aren’t totally wrong either. He is having the worst season of his career, but not by much, and his worst is still pretty damn competitive with his opponents.
This is an in-depth evaluation of Mahomes’ season through the first 13 weeks, and how it stacks up against his past, the AFC, and the top three quarterbacks in the league this year.