Patrick Mahomes is Human, and That's OK
Patrick Mahomes choked. There is more to the Kansas City Chiefs’ 27-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday afternoon than that, of course. The play calling was probably less than ideal. Other players made mistakes. But the previously unthinkable is still true: Mahomes was a major reason why the Chiefs lost — and he choked.
It is almost unbelievable. Over the last three years as the Chiefs starting quarterback, Mahomes had established an incredible standard in the playoffs. Mahomes was 8-2 as a starter in the playoffs with storybook comebacks littered across his resume. His only two losses were to Tom Brady — once in a game where he didn't touch the ball in overtime and once in a Super Bowl with an offensive line devastated by injuries. No reasonable person would put the majority of the blame on Patrick Mahomes for those games.
That changed Sunday in a fever dream of an AFC Championship Game.
The game Mahomes played in the second half of Sunday’s loss is bewildering, especially because only one week earlier Mahomes went toe-to-toe with Josh Allen in one of the most perfectly quarterbacked games in recent NFL history. How can Mahomes go from that Bills game to this Bengals game?
The answer is simple. Despite it seeming otherwise in recent memory, Mahomes is still human.
Patrick Mahomes walks off the field during the Chiefs' loss in the AFC championship game. Syndication Usa Today © Albert Cesare / USA TODAY NETWORK
The shine and luster of Mahomes that he had established over his first three years as a starter did not disappear just from the Bengals game. This year, his fourth year as a starter, was a year of unpleasant firsts for Mahomes.
The Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers was the first time he was held to under 10 points and the first time the Chiefs had lost by more than eight points with Mahomes at quarterback.
This year brought his first time throwing a September interception. His first time leading an offense to no touchdowns in a game. His first time actually having bad games.
It is almost fitting the year ended with Mahomes's first collapse in the postseason. And despite all of this… it's going to be OK.
It is hard to utter those words, to stomach this thought, and to express this idea so soon after the Chiefs’ biggest playoff collapse with Mahomes at quarterback, but it is true. The reason is simple. Patrick Mahomes is not the first all-time-great quarterback to choke.
Yes, this sentiment even includes Tom Brady. The 2011 playoff game against the New York Jets, while probably not on the same level, saw Brady fail a fourth down and settle for a field goal late in the game. This led to the Mark Sanchez-led New York Jets getting a huge win over their longtime division rivals. Beyond Brady, it is easy to find games where most of the all-time greats performed poorly in the playoffs.
To be fair, the scale and magnitude of the Chiefs' collapse is greater than many other poor games by quarterbacks among the greats. A home game against a team considered your lesser in the AFC Championship Game, after being up 21-3? That stings.
Jan 30, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) reacts after their loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. The Cincinnati Bengals won 27-24. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
This loss shows that Mahomes is not infallible. Superman does bleed. What does a game like this (and a season like this) mean going forward?
Patrick Mahomes will still need help.
Yes, Mahomes does have help in the form of Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce and the coaching staff, but all three at times let him down when he was in a rut on Sunday. Drops form Hill and Kelce ended a drive. Andy Reid's play calling continued to expect for Mahomes to snap out of his funk. In times like that, Mahomes needs help around him to pick him up.
The good news is that Mahomes doesn't need help very often. He was the one elevating the team against the Bills. He was the one, along with some coaching, who fixed his early season woes and improved his pocket presence.
The Chiefs need to continue to focus on building around Mahomes as Mahomes focuses on his own faults.
Jan 30, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard (94) sacks Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) to cause a fumble during the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship Game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
A parallel that should frighten the Chiefs is what happened to the Green Bay Packers for a few years with Aaron Rodgers. The offensive weapons were depleted, the scheme became stale, and Rodgers' play suffered mightily because of it. This was, in large part, due to the Packers front office being stubborn with offensive additions through free agency.
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has not operated like the Packers front office. Veach showed that last offseason when he rebuilt the offensive line. Veach should learn from this loss as well, this time, retooling a different position. A better wide receiver to pair with Hill is the first and most obvious upgrade the Chiefs can look for.
It is up to the Chiefs organization to use this loss as a catalyst to reinvent how they think about Mahomes. They need to make Mahomes's life easier, not harder. Run the ball into light boxes when defenses offer them. Go get weapons this offseason that get separation and move on from familiar faces like Demarcus Robinson. Reinvent the offense a bit with more quarterback-friendly options for when Mahomes is in a rut or the offense is caught off-guard.
This loss against the Bengals will sting all offseason. This loss will likely affect Mahomes more than any other fan or player. It is the first time the NFL world saw Patrick Mahomes truly bleed.
Mahomes is still the same player who beat Josh Allen in a high-flying victory. He is still the same player who wanted to run wasp. He has still been clutch for the majority of his career.
The only thing that has changed on Sunday is that Mahomes showed the world he is also human, and that's OK.
