Time to Admit Harsh Truth About Raiders' Hated Rival Patrick Mahomes

The Las Vegas Raiders came this close to beating Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium for the second straight year last Friday.

While it was certainly an inspiring performance by the Raiders, the game may have said more about the Chiefs than it did about Las Vegas.

More specifically, it may have told us quite a bit about Mahomes.

Here's the thing: Mahomes is having a poor 2024. He's still really good and he's still arguably the most lethal quarterback in all of football.

But this season has not lived up to his standard.

Through the first 12 games of 2024, Mahomes has thrown 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He owns a passer rating of 92.2. His QBR is 64.4. He is averaging 248.3 passing yards per game.

The passer rating and yards per game are career lows. His QBR was a tad lower last season, but this is the second-worst mark of his NFL tenure.

What's more, his touchdown percentage (4.4 percent) is the lowest of his career, and his interception percentage (2.6 percent) is the highest (in a bad way). His touchdown-to-interception ratio of 1.7 is also his most inefficent mark ever.

Let's spare the "he doesn't have any weapons" argument. The 2020 version of Mahomes never would have been posting these numbers. Heck, neither would the 2022 version.

We first saw actual signs of Mahomes' decline last year, when he finished with 27 touchdowns and 14 picks while registering a 92.6 passer rating. It looked like an offseason at the time, but at this point, it's obvious that it is becoming a theme.

Keep in mind: this does not mean that Mahomes is suddenly a bum or pedestrian. Again, he is still probably the most dangerous signal-caller in all of football. He will strike fear into opposing defenses in January once again. But he is showing cracks in the armor.

The Chiefs are 11-1, but they aren't exactly blowing teams away. Honestly, they are getting pretty lucky. They could just as easily be 8-4 if Isaiah Likely gets his toe inbounds, if they didn't block a 35-yard field goal by the Denver Broncos, and if the Raiders didn't botch that snap last week.

And I get it: they're not 8-4. They are what their record says they are, but there is very little doubt that this Kansas City squad is very vulnerable, and much of that has to do with the play of Mahomes.

Mahomes completed just 56.5 percent of his passes against the Raiders, this even though opponents are completing 66.3 percent of their throws on Las Vegas this season.

The three-time Super Bowl champion has lost some of his shine, and that was on full display against the Raiders in Week 13.

The AFC is now wide open, and Mahomes may not be there to save the Chiefs this time.

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @HondoCarpenter and IG @HondoSr and never miss another breaking news story again.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.