NFL fans love dogging on the Chiefs and their connections with the referees week after week. People are entitled to their opinion. One thing, though, that has resulted from all the hate is the disrespect towards Patrick Mahomes. That part is a bit silly given what he has accomplished.
If an average gamer were to simulate the first eight years of their career in Madden, there’s a chance it’s not as good as Patrick Mahomes’. In his first eight years in the NFL, he has been to seven AFC Championships, five Super Bowls, and won three of them. He sat on the bench in his first year so that season could be thrown out.
In Mahomes’s seven years as a starter, he is batting a thousand in AFC championship appearances. People need to grasp how insane that is. He also has won the Super Bowl pretty much every other year in his career. He has the most wins ever through 100 games with 77.
In addition to the incredible team success, Mahomes has the individual hardware to show for it. He has won MVP twice, Super Bowl MVP three times, and has been named an All-Pro three times. The Chiefs QB is the fastest to reach 30,000 yards, which was done in 103 games.
Mahomes also is never out of a game. When down by 10+ points in game, his record is 15-11(0.577). That is unheard of.
Tom Brady, who is regarded as the GOAT, has a record of 39-61(0.390), which is considered unbelievable. The fact that Mahomes has a positive record when trailing by that much has never been seen before.
Don’t normalize this because whatever Mahomes is doing is not normal.
Mahomes hit the ground running as a starter. In his first year playing, he threw for 50 touchdowns and over 5,000 yards. His passer rating in each season was north of 100 from 2018 to 2022 except for one year. His last two years, however, have shown a slight dip in production.
In 2023, Mahomes had 27 touchdowns and 14 interceptions and over 4,000 yards with a rating of 92.6. Not a great season statistically, but ended that season with a Super Bowl MVP. In 2024, he threw for 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and just under 3,000 yards with a rating of 93.5.
These seasons have not seen typical Mahomes numbers, but they’re still better than 95% of QBs. The way the public has talked about him has made it seem like he’s an average QB at best.
There’s a YouTube video titled “Why Patrick Mahomes has the MOST pressure on him in 2025.” This itself shows how much of a higher standard Mahomes is held to than others. In no world should a two-time MVP and three-time Super Bowl MVP and champ be going into a season with the most pressure.
Mahomes’ last two seasons have been a drop-off from his incredible early career, which has warped the perception of a lot of people. A lot of the criticism stems from just box score watching. When watching the game, however, it’s evident that he makes clutch plays down the stretch and led the league in fourth-quarter comebacks.
Mahomes hasn’t been perfect, and the criticisms of his play, especially in the first three quarters, are fair. To say he is under immense pressure, however, is downright crazy. He has done more in seven years than 90% quarterbacks in league history.
A couple of “down” years have led to both seasons ending in February.
The discourse on Patrick Mahomes sometimes feels insincere. His level of success has never been seen before in such a short time. The moment he looks mortal, NFL fans are ready to pounce on him and call him overrated.
The truth is this: Mahomes has been in the league eight years and has inserted himself in the GOAT convo with Brady. He certainly is not winning it now, but to even be in the discussion with someone who played 23 seasons is ridiculous.
Don’t get it twisted. This is far from normal.
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