KC Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes’ brilliance has become routine to us

Patrick Mahomes elevated his play in a major way against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night. Not only was he able to explode to lead the Kansas City Chiefs on seven straight scoring drives, but he was also able to do so without even scoring in the entire first quarter.

The Chiefs were always going to need their star quarterback to perform well to execute a deep playoff run, but I think most of us were expecting the very prolific version of Patrick Mahomes that we didn’t see as much this season as we’re used to seeing. That said, he was still top five in just about every single major quarterback statistic which goes to show just how good Mahomes is even in what most would consider a “down year”.

Mahomes also did something last night that I simply couldn’t believe. After throwing for over 400 yards and 5 touchdowns on Sunday, he became the only quarterback in NFL history to have as many of those games as he now does.

That’s right. Mahomes is the only quarterback in NFL history with four 400+ yard 5 TD games and he did it in less than 100 starts. How amazing is that? And it seemed so casual to us on Sunday when we were witnessing it. We all knew Mahomes was capable of having that kind of game, but I don’t think many of us considered how difficult that kind of game is for every other quarterback in the league. The question is now just how many 400-yard, 5 touchdown games Mahomes will finish with when it is all said and done.

Patrick Mahomes’ greatness is becoming routine for NFL fans.

A lot of us were also pretty nervous after the first quarter when the Chiefs were stalled offensively and the Steelers found themselves up by 7 points thanks to T.J. Watt. It felt like it was going to be one of those grind-it-out games where the Chiefs skate by. Then, boom! The Chiefs scored 21 points in a single quarter to take a comfortable lead before halftime. The onslaught would continue in the second half and before everyone knew it, Mahomes had thrown 5 touchdown passes in just 10:30 seconds—the fastest burst of points by a quarterback in postseason history.

Again, Mahomes’ production felt routine to us. It’s because it wasn’t the first time the Chiefs had seen him at work—even at that level. Mahomes did it against the Houston Texans in 2019 when the Chiefs scored 27 points in just a quarter to take a 27-24 lead by halftime, and he showed up in Super Bowl LIV in the same way when he led the offense to score three touchdowns in the final seven minutes of the game. These are things that other teams simply aren’t capable of doing.

Mahomes may have had a less than stellar regular season by his standards, and he may have had some bad turnover luck, but he has reminded everyone that when he and the Chiefs offense are clicking he is the best quarterback in the game. It’s not close.

Mahomes isn’t just displaying greatness through the numbers, though. We can’t skip over the organizational transformation he’s been responsible for since he took over the reins.

If the Chiefs win the AFC once again this year, they will have won as many playoff games in the Mahomes era as they did in the 50 years before he arrived. The effect he’s had on the team’s success is unheard of in the history of Chiefs football. Chiefs fans shouldn’t take for granted what this team has going on. Sure, we’ve been critical when they haven’t performed exceptionally well at times, and a high standard has been set, but these players and coaches have “Super Bowl or bust” in their minds every year. That is surreal to anyone who has been a Chiefs fan for a substantial length of time.

Sometimes it’s fun to pick at different issues this Chiefs team has and dream about situations other teams have, but it’s important to remember that 31 different fan bases would likely sacrifice a family member or two to have what the Chiefs have, and anyone who says they wouldn’t trade their starting quarterback for Mahomes is lying or delusional.

Mahomes’ brilliance has become so routine that people forget what it was like before he was drafted. When he doesn’t throw for 300 yards and 3-plus touchdowns every game, we say that he played “fine” when in reality that’s a fantastic game for other quarterbacks. Speaking of 300-yard games Mahomes already has 34 of those in his career including Sunday’s performance. To put that into perspective, Aaron Rodgers has 77 career 300-yard passing games and he entered the league in 2005. Mahomes has half of Rodgers’ 300-yard games at age 26. Just incredible.

Mahomes also rarely loses, and when he does, he doesn’t lose by much. The Chiefs did not lose a game by more than one possession for three whole seasons with Mahomes at quarterback. Since he’s been the starter (4 seasons) they’ve only lost 3 games by more than a score. It’s one thing to pick the Chiefs to lose, but they almost never go down without a fight. The Chiefs aren’t invincible with Mahomes, and I hate to have that mentality, but they’re damn near unbeatable when he’s locked in.

For anyone who is nervous for the Buffalo Bills divisional round matchup, just keep in mind you have the best quarterback on the planet, a man who has defied history in just about every single way. You can be damn sure that he’s going to have an “over my dead body” game this Sunday against Buffalo.