All year long people have been singing the praises of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, but he’s not always perfect.
From his 50 regular-season touchdown passes to leading the Chiefs to a long-overdue home playoff win and winning the first NFL MVP in franchise history, Mahomes more than deserves plenty of the praise he’s been getting this offseason. But in the spirit of Thanos, we will try to make the universe “perfectly balanced, as all things should be.”
None of these mistakes make Mahomes any less of a fantastic player, but they should serve as steppingstones for any potential growth during the 2019 season. If Mahomes can fix some of these moments, he’ll be able to improve his game.
Here’s a look at a few moments where Mahomes wasn’t perfect last season:
Interception against the Ravens (Week 14)
A lot of these blunders were made due to Mahomes trying to make up for a defense that finished the season ranked 31st. Sometimes that meant attempting ridiculous throws that worked more often than they didn’t.
One of the times Mahomes tried to work his magic and didn’t get the desired results was in the third quarter vs. the Ravens in Week 14. That game is mostly remembered by fans as the “no-look pass” game or the “4th-and-9” game, but not nearly as many people mention the interception thrown that helped the Ravens come back in the second half.
The Chiefs were up 17-10 with the ball. The Ravens got pressure on Mahomes and forced him to step up in the pocket. Ravens outside linebacker Matthew Judon got his hands on Mahomes, and instead of taking the sack, Mahomes threw a pick right to safety Chuck Clark.
The play helped the Ravens gain momentum and eventually take the lead. Moments like that can be avoided, and hopefully Mahomes has learned from that mistake even though it didn’t cost Kansas City a victory.
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Unforced fumble against the Ravens (Week 14)
Continuing with that same game, Mahomes engineered a magical comeback to force overtime. When the Chiefs were on the Ravens’ 12-yard line, Mahomes was feeling the pressure from Baltimore again. While doing one of his famous escaping acts, where he reversed field and peeled out, the ball squirted out of Mahomes’ hand with two Ravens in high pursuit.
Luckily for Mahomes, left tackle Eric Fisher hadn’t given up on the play and was able to recover the fumble. But had it not been for Fisher’s awareness, the Chiefs could have very well lost that game, which would have had major playoff implications.
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Interception to end the half against the Patriots (Week 6)
Mahomes had a second half to remember in his first head-to-head matchup against Tom Brady, but part of what made it so great was how he started the game.
Trailing 24-9, the Chiefs engineered a good drive to end the first half. With 13 seconds left and the ball near the Patriots 20, Mahomes scrambled out of the pocket and tried to force a pass to Travis Kelce. The pass was tipped and intercepted in the end zone.
The Chiefs ended up losing that game by three points, so that interception could have changed the outcome.
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Back-to-back interceptions against the Rams (Week 11)
The last minute and a half against Los Angeles could easily be one of the worst performances by Mahomes.
The Chiefs were down 54-51 with 1:28 left in the game. Mahomes was deep in the pocket winding up to throw downfield when a last-second hit from Samson Ebukam turned the throw into an easy interception for former Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters.
Miraculously, thanks to a last-effort stand from the defense, Mahomes had another shot. With only 25 seconds left, Mahomes rolled to his right to launch a pass downfield — and into the waiting arms of the Rams defense.
Mahomes did not have a ton of options with so little time left in the game, but throwing into double coverage with the game on the line was not ideal. The Chiefs could have done a number of things better to win that game, but Mahomes’ two picks at the end of the game surely didn’t help.
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Missing Damien Williams for a TD against the Patriots (AFC championship game)
With time winding down in the first half of the AFC title game, the Chiefs were only down 7-0 with the ball in Mahomes’ hands near the New England 20-yard line. Damien Williams ran a beautiful wheel route and was wide-open to score. Mahomes saw him but overthrew him by a couple of yards.
In a game that went into overtime, it’s safe to say any easy score in the first half could have completely changed the outcome and missed opportunities like that one came back to haunt the Chiefs.
Again, none of these mistakes define who Patrick Mahomes is as a QB. He is willing and able to make plays that others might not even attempt. But, acknowledging his mistakes is just as important as praising his accomplishments. Knowing the spots where he can improve will make his future success that much sweeter.
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