The Kansas City Chiefs moved to 5-0 by defeating the Los Angeles Chargers. It was nowhere close to a pretty win for Kansas City. However, the Chargers were never really in the game and failed to put much pressure on the Chiefs.
Patrick Mahomes stood out despite an unspectacular stat line. He also made a horrible decision that led to an interception in the end zone, one he would certainly like back. But in terms of how he delivered and distributed the ball on Sunday, Mahomes displayed the confidence and poise that Chiefs fans have become accustomed to.
What were some of the main takeaways from Mahomes' performance? Let's start with how he involved his weapons.
Chiefs spread the wealth to get everyone involved
Xavier Worthy followed up his impressive outing in Las Vegas with one of his strongest performances in a long time. He did not drop a single ball and consistently put the Kansas City offense in good positions with his yards after the catch.
Mahomes also gave plenty of complementary pieces chances to make plays. Noah Gray was able to rumble for some yards after the catch, while Andrew Armstrong received targets in the red zone. Mahomes did not hesitate to attack downfield with Cyrus Allen, either. Finally, Jalen Royals saw a few notable opportunities beyond the sticks and near the end zone.
Were any of these players' target shares massive on Sunday? Not really. Still, it was important to see how much trust Mahomes had in all of his options. With Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton unavailable, that is something we haven't always witnessed between Mahomes and his secondary pass catchers over the last couple of years.
Mahomes fired with confidence and conviction
Several aspects of Mahomes' performance made this a better outing than the numbers suggest. Most notably, the ball was coming out hot off his hand. In recent seasons, when the offense struggled, Mahomes sometimes failed to put his full body into throws, leaving certain passes without enough power. At times, he even appeared to short-arm the ball.
On Sunday, however, Mahomes was putting his full strength behind his passes. Many of his throws were right where his pass catchers needed them to be. He did have the ugly turnover in the red zone, but he also showed the ability to adjust with touch and layered throws when necessary. The late conversion on an out route to Travis Kelce was an excellent example.
Overall, we've largely seen steady passing results from Mahomes in his return from injury. But this performance was right up there with his game against the Indianapolis Colts as one of his best of the season. He also looked much more comfortable after facing some pressure against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Advanced numbers outweigh typical stat sheet
Mahomes did not throw a touchdown pass in this game, nor did he reach 300 passing yards. Despite that, his advanced numbers against the Chargers paint a much more favorable picture.
He did not revert to an overabundance of attempts behind the line of scrimmage. In fact, he went 7 for 9 on throws at or beyond 10 yards downfield. Mahomes finished the day with an adjusted completion percentage of 88.5, according to Pro Football Focus, his second-best mark of the season. His completion percentage over expected also sat at +7.6 percent, via Next Gen Stats.
Mahomes was excellent in the intermediate windows, and he'll look to build on that performance against the acclaimed Seattle Seahawks defense next week.
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