KC Chiefs should unleash Patrick Mahomes to be more aggressive

After some obvious frustrations in Week 3, it’s clear that Patrick Mahomes could be given even more permission to lead the Chiefs offense as he’d like.

If you think the idea of “unleashing Patrick Mahomes” sounds silly, it does. I think so and I’m the one writing about it.

The Kansas City Chiefs‘ offense has been the envy of the entire National Football League for the last 4-5 years, and it was already one of the league’s more productive units for another half-decade before that. Andy Reid’s presence as head coach has not only stabilized the Chiefs franchise but ushered in a golden era like nothing before in the team’s’ storied history. Reid is a future Hall of Fame head coach with hopefully several more years on the sidelines in K.C.

Under Reid’s tutelage, Mahomes has put up record-setting numbers to start his career, one that began with a jaw-dropping, bar-setting 50 touchdown season. He’s made likely Hall of Famers out of Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce (or at least helped their cases considerably), and he’s kept the Chiefs from ever having to pack a single bag in the winter. The combination of leadership under center and on the sidelines has made Kansas City into one of the NFL’s most successful (and feared) franchises and their Super Bowl window is wide open for the foreseeable future.

So, what is this “unleashing” thing about?

Tempering Patrick Mahomes

During Sunday’s embarrassing loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Chiefs exhibited hesitancy (or at least questionable approaches) in a couple of key moments that may or may not have made the ultimate difference.

The most obvious moment found Mahomes when he was frustrated on the sidelines. The Chiefs had the ball with just a bit of time remaining on the clock before halftime, and Mahomes wanted to press in order to put at least some points on the board. He was on camera sharing heated words with Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, and the pair had to be ushered into the locker room by Reid at halftime.

Since then, Reid and Mahomes have commented on things publicly, and Mahomes has owned his part saying he is always going to want to go for it—to reach for any possible points he can add—while the Chiefs’ coaches decided to play it safe.

The second moment, one that came a bit later in the game, featured the Chiefs going with a decidedly unsafe option when they called for a fake field goal play. Punter Tommy Townsend was given permission to attempt an 11-yard completion to tight end Noah Gray instead of allowing kicker Matt Ammendola to try a moderate field goal.

Yes, Ammendola had previous misses, but the distance wasn’t considerable, and even if the team decided they were through with their kicker, they should have just given Mahomes a fresh look on fourth down. If Mahomes wanted to go for it with only a few seconds left facing long odds of putting up points before halftime, he must have been dying inside to go back out there at a pivotal late-game moment to convert a potential fourth down instead of leaving things to special teams deception.

Before the half, Mahomes wanted to go after it and wasn’t allowed. Later in the game, the team went after it but did so without Mahomes. The former is up for debate, but the latter ended up as one of several special teams miscues on the day. Taken together, they make you wonder: why won’t the Chiefs just let Mahomes completely own this offense? Why not unleash him to do what he wants to do?

“Patrick (Mahomes), listen, this is what makes him great. He wants to rip your heart out every chance he gets,” said Reid after the game. It was part of a series of positive statements made about both Mahomes and Bieniemy and what makes them valuable. To be clear, Reid said it was his call to keep Mahomes from trying anything more offensively before halftime, not Bieniemy. Reid also stated he didn’t want either figure to change their personalities.

Nuance is important

There are pros and cons to what Reid is advocating here. It’s not healthy for anyone—superstar or not—to be a lone wolf. Accountability is good. Shared ideas are the best ideas. Feedback is necessary for change, for growth, for steps forward. No one should ever push for Mahomes to be crowned king or given carte blanche when it comes to offensive game plans for the Chiefs.

At the same time, trying to negotiate a happy medium creates a muddled middle (say that three times fast). Trying to please everyone actually ends up pleasing no one, and it likely leads to the sort of puzzling results at times that we saw on Sunday. The Chiefs were both risk-tolerant and risk-averse within the same game—sometimes within the same stretch. They were neither conservative or aggressive and it was hard to figure out the team’s offensive identity against the Colts.

No one should advocate for a hands-off approach for Mahomes. Reid and his staff are an essential part of the Chiefs’ success, and anyone ignoring that factor is just engaged in hero worship more than anything. There is a time and place for everything, including aggression, and Mahomes hasn’t always been wise with the freedom he’s given. But Mahomes himself is aware of this. He’s the first to admit his mistakes and point out what he needs to address and no one has ever questioned his work ethic.

After five years within Reid’s offense, Mahomes should have free reign to call some shots as he sees fit. If he sees a window—even a tight one—to potentially gain some points, he should have permission. If the team is going to ask anyone to move the chains, it should be take one call. The team might learn a painful lesson or two in the process, but they also might not completely collapse at key moments or allow a clearly inferior team to walk away with a sloppy win.