Patrick Mahomes has a habit of turning a mess into a win, and Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium was another clean example of it.
The Chiefs beat the Chargers 22-6, a score that looked comfortable even if the path there was anything but. Kansas City left points on the field, watched a punt return get fumbled and absorbed eight penalties for 89 yards. Still, the result never changed, and Mahomes had plenty to do with that.
The victory also pushed Mahomes to his 100th regular-season win in 131 starts, tying Tom Brady for the most in NFL history through that span. That number sits inside a much larger chase, of course, one that stretches toward Brady’s standard in the postseason and beyond.
Brady finished with 35 playoff wins and seven Super Bowl titles. Mahomes now has 17 playoff wins and is one Super Bowl away from tying Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw for second place behind Brady.
For Mahomes, the milestone mattered, but only up to a point.
“If you can be mentioned in any category with him, it’s special,” Mahomes said.
He said the bigger shift in his game is less about flair and more about the craft of winning.
“I think I’ve gotten better and better at winning.”
That showed itself on a day when he didn’t post gaudy touchdown numbers. Mahomes went 23 of 30 for 272 yards with no touchdowns, and he made clear he was fine with that as long as the Chiefs kept control of the game.
“It’s not always pretty; it’s not always how I want it to be,” said Mahomes, who completed 23 of 30 passes for 272 yards but no touchdowns Sunday. “I want to throw three touchdowns, four touchdowns, and I want to put up big stats. But whenever your defense is playing like they are today, you can’t force it.
“And after I forced that one early in the game, I was just like, ‘Hey, listen, let’s figure out the best way to win the football game.’ And we were able to do that.”
That early mistake came after Jack Cochrane’s 48-yard interception return set Kansas City up at the Chargers’ 17 with the Chiefs already leading 9-3. It was a prime chance to blow the game open against a winless team, now 0-6. Instead, Mahomes made an unusual throw that ended in an interception in the end zone.
He said the play developed faster than expected, leaving him scrambling and falling back as he threw.
“I did what you’re not supposed to do … I kind of was trying to throw it away, but at the same time, like, trying to give (Chiefs receiver Andrew Armstrong) him a chance.”
From there, though, the game tilted back in Kansas City’s favor.
After the Chiefs forced a punt, Mahomes came back with a more complete stretch of football. He ran a true option on second and 7 for the first time this year as he continues to work his way back from the 2025 season-ending knee injury. He picked up 10 yards and a first down, though he still believes there’s more burst to rediscover.
“I think there’s some burst that I don’t have,” he said.
Mahomes then completed five straight passes and even helped finish off Kenneth Walker III’s 2-yard touchdown run by serving as a blocker.
“With Kenneth, you’ve got to be ready,” said Mahomes, who figured at least grazing L.A.’s Tuli Tuipulotu could be pivotal. “If I get him, (Walker’s) going to score.
“I didn’t get a lot,” he added with a smile, “but I got enough.”
That line fit the afternoon for the Chiefs too.
Sunday came 10 months after Mahomes was injured on this same field against this same opponent, the moment that helped define a lost season and ended Kansas City’s postseason run for the first time since 2014. The recovery raised questions about how quickly he would be back and whether that season was only a blip or the start of a tougher stretch for a franchise that had reached five Super Bowls in the previous six seasons.
Mahomes answered by getting back to work, not just to return, but to become himself again as quickly as possible.
Now the Chiefs stand as the AFC’s lone undefeated team and one of three unbeaten teams overall, pending San Francisco’s Monday night game against Washington. And Mahomes said the injury is no longer something he carries around mentally.
He hadn’t even thought about the fact that the injury came against the Chargers until he reviewed the film last week.
“When it came to that play, you speed it up pretty quickly,” he said.
“We’ve moved on past that now,” he added.
That forward tilt also applies to the bigger numbers and bigger names he’s chasing. Brady’s records still matter to him, Mahomes said, but only as fuel.
“Brady’s records do ‘give me motivation, but it’s still so far away,’” Mahomes said.
At 31, he knows Brady played until 45, and he sees that model as the one worth following.
“The way he played the game, that’s how you want to play it. You want to be a competitor, you want to win and you want to bring your teammates along. And that’s who I want to be as my career goes on.”
And so far, that’s exactly who he’s been.
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