Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is one of the most electric players of his generation, constantly thrilling fans with his unique ability to make plays and score points. Through his first 52 games, he has proven to be, pound-for-pound one of the best young quarterbacks ever.
But early-season struggles for the Chiefs, who were supposed to be Super Bowl-bound, have inevitably made Mahomes critics louder than ever. The MVP quarterback spoke to the media before Wednesday’s practice about what he and the offense need to do in the passing game to get Kansas City back to the top of the AFC playoff picture.
“I think as an offense, especially for me [I need to] just to stop hurting myself,” He told reporters. “Just stay within the reads, stay true to the reads and when it broke down, got out of the pocket and tried to make plays happen. Pretty much just staying true to who I am and not try to do too much and kind of relied on the other guys to make plays and they did.”
Asked if the constant assessments by the fans and analysts ever eat at him, Mahomes told reporters that victories neutralize any of the extra noise, emphasizing that his preparation keeps him centered.
“I mean it doesn’t really bother me that much,” Mahomes explained casually. “As long as you’re winning football games, the other stuff doesn’t matter, good or bad. I just kind of have that mindset of I’m going to do my routine, stay within my routine, focus on winning football games and after that the rest kind of handles itself.”
Unbelievably wise for a 26-year-old in his fourth year of being a full-time starter, Mahomes has a perfect grasp on the situation. Statistically, his performances are as good as they’ve been throughout his career with the most passing touchdowns in the league through six games (18) and the third-most passing yards (1,887). In spite of the obvious turnover troubles, this offense has kept rolling. The biggest cure to their ailments and any sort of outside criticism is to continue to win games.
This early stretch of games is surely one of the most daunting challenges Mahomes has ever faced as a pro, and if his comments are any indication, he is approaching the situation with the championship mentality that got his team to two straight Super Bowls.
