Patrick Mahomes is back to looking like Patrick Mahomes, and the numbers are backing it up.
With the Chiefs unbeaten heading into their Week 7 matchup against the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks, Mahomes’ return to the top of Kansas City’s offense has become one of the biggest reasons this team is humming again. After his ACL and LCL tears, there was some natural doubt about whether he would immediately be back to running the show the way he always has. That question, at this point, has been answered.
A CBS Sports feature by Garrett Podell after the NFL’s Week 6 slate highlighted Mahomes as the best quarterback in the league at one specific skill: completing passes outside the pocket. Podell said Mahomes “looks like his normal self post-ACL tear” and added that “no one is better when throwing outside the pocket.”
That’s a pretty strong statement, but it matches what’s showing up on the field. Mahomes is leading the NFL in that category, and he’s doing it while Kansas City keeps rolling.
Henry McKenna of Fox Sports also pointed to how much help Mahomes is getting from running back Kenneth Walker III. McKenna wrote, “No coincidence that Mahomes is having an unreal season against pressure while Walker has been unreal against stacked boxes.
It's just two players defying everything we know about football,” he notes. “It's two players who are on another level.
That's why it hasn't mattered so much who is playing left tackle or wide receiver for the Chiefs.”
Walker’s presence matters, no doubt. Having a Super Bowl MVP-winning running back in the mix is a major boost. But Mahomes is still the driver here, and the season he’s putting together deserves its own spotlight.
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The concern is not just the occasional shaky decision, but the sense that the Chiefs are carrying a liability they do not need. With so little payoff elsewhere, every mistake at returner lands harder, and the conversation around whether Kansas City should keep going this way is getting tougher to avoid. [Read more 🡒]