The Kansas City Chiefs entered their bye week 4-0 and back on top of the NFL after a miserable 2025 season. That's likely all that matters to quarterback Patrick Mahomes, but along with the team's turnaround, he has seen some personal success as well.
Mahomes had one of the most prolific starts to his career that the NFL has ever seen, but in recent years his numbers have declined some. So is the season a return to his elite productivity or just a slight uptick over the past couple of seasons?
How productive has Patrick Mahomes been this season?
Through the first four games this season Mahomes has put up the following numbers:
- 82 completions
- 128 attempts
- 64.1% completions
- 1,037 yards (259.3 per game)
- 8.1 yards per attempt
- 9 touchdowns
- 2 interceptions
There is no question that Mahomes has had a great start to his season. He's been one of the best quarterbacks this season, and the combination of him and Kenneth Walker has made the Chiefs incredibly hard to defend.
There is also no question that Mahomes has been more productive than in the past few seasons. If you look at the combined numbers/averages of the first four games over the past three seasons (2023-2025), you can see that Mahomes' productivity numbers are definitely up this season.
First Four Games Averages for 2023-2025:
- 87.3 completions
- 135.3 attempts
- 64.5% completions
- 949.7 yards (237.4 per game)
- 7.0 yards per attempt
- 7 touchdowns/season
- 3.3 interceptions/season
Despite having a few fewer attempts and a similar completion percentage, Mahomes is averaging over a yard more per attempt with two more touchdowns and fewer interceptions. He's been great, but how does his start compare to his elite production in his early years?
Just how prolific was Patrick Mahomes to start his career?
Over Mahomes' first five seasons as a starter (2018-2022), he was on another level.
First Four Games Averages for 2018-2022:
- 99.2 completions
- 146.2 attempts
- 67.8% completions
- 1,233.6 yards (308.4 per game)
- 8.4 yards per attempt
- 12 touchdowns
- 1.2 interceptions
It really is staggering how much Mahomes' production dropped from his first five seasons as a starter, even in just the first four games of each season. He averaged about 70 fewer yards per game, almost 1.5 fewer yards per attempt, with significantly fewer touchdowns and more interceptions. If you compare his start to this season with both sets of numbers, he is basically right in the middle. He's clearly been more productive/prolific than in the past three seasons, but less productive/prolific than he was in his first five seasons as a starter.
The good news for the Chiefs is that during those early productive years, the Chiefs didn't have a prolific back as they do right now with Kenneth Walker. That dual threat is allowing the Chiefs' offense to succeed without Mahomes returning to the stratosphere. However, the concerning part is that a big part of what has improved over the past three seasons is the deep passing attack that has caused the jump in yards per attempt. Tyquan Thornton was a big part of that, and now the Chiefs have to try to keep that going while he recovers from a significant injury.
The Chiefs are back competing for playoff spots and hopefully a Super Bowl run, and Patrick Mahomes is a huge part of that. He's been fantastic so far this season, and while he may not be putting up the same early-season numbers as he did in his first five seasons, it is still a huge improvement over the past few seasons. If he can continue to produce on that level despite the injuries to Thornton and Rashee Rice, the Chiefs should be able to keep their momentum rolling.
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