NFL quarterback rankings, Week 17: Where is Patrick Mahomes?
By Evan Mead
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are coming off a great 36-10 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers this past week. Now, after collecting a dominating win against one AFC North team, they are getting ready to take on another in hopes of achieving a similar result.
The Chiefs’ offense had everything working for them. With Clyde Edwards-Helaire getting a rushing touchdown, Darrell Williams getting some good runs in, along with Derrick Gore, the backfield had all things moving in particular. Although all those things were impressive, there is one thing that needs to be talked about even more: Patrick Mahomes‘ excellence.
Against the Steelers, Mahomes was efficient and poised. He showed signs of the old Mahomes with his play extension, yet also played smart and didn’t make many bad decisions with the football, which is something he’s made big strides with over the course of their winning streak.
Looking back to the first couple of months of the season, it was unclear if the Chiefs would even find their way into the playoffs. There were a lot of things that accounted for the Chiefs’ early struggles, but one of the problems was Mahomes’ gunslinger complex. He started to become reckless with the football and made passes that he should not have been making. There were a ton of drops by the receivers early on, but some of those miscues were on him.
During the first two months of the season, Patrick Mahomes played seven games. In those seven games, he had a record of 3-4. Looking even deeper, Mahomes threw for 2,093 yards, 18 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. The thing that really rubs me the wrong way is the fact that he had a 2:1 ratio for TD/INT. When you have a generational quarterback like Patrick Mahomes, you expect better than that and we weren’t. However, if you look at the last couple of months things have turned around for the Chiefs.
In the last two months, Mahomes and the Chiefs have played in eight games. In those eight games not only are the Chiefs undefeated but Mahomes has turned into the player that we all know he can be as he has thrown for 2,217 yards along with 15 touchdowns against only 4 interceptions.