The Kansas City Chiefs are the NFL embodiment of Isaac Newton’s first law of motion. They’ve been rolling through the AFC since naming Patrick Mahomes their starting quarterback in 2018. Thus far, essentially no outside force has stopped them. The Chiefs have made the AFC Championship every year under Mahomes, who’s headed to his fifth Super Bowl following Sunday’s 32-29 victory over the Buffalo Bills.
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Kansas City’s five Super Bowl appearances in six seasons are an NFL record. Despite this, Skip Bayless is unimpressed with Mahomes’ current level of play. He wondered on YouTube if other analysts recognize Mahomes as not being his prototypical self in recent seasons.
“Has anybody out there but me noticed that Patrick Mahomes is no longer ‘Patrick Mahomes’? That super-duper star, who took the NFL by storm in his first five years… bombs away, everybody go long and I’ll throw it 80 yards for touchdown after touchdown… Patrick Ma-Home Run… that guy is gone, along with much of the splash and the flash.”
Bayless isn’t wrong about the last aspect. Mahomes averaged his fewest passing yards per attempt, per completion, and per game of his career this year. His 2024 numbers are even lower than his 2023 statistics, which were his previous career lows. In Bayless’ opinion, Mahomes’ current style resembles that of Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger near the end of their NFL days.
“This Mahomes, he plays shockingly boring football. This Mahomes has turned into the ultimate dink-and-dunk artist… no NFL quarterback gets rid of the ball quicker… instead of high rolling hundreds, trying to hit the casino jackpot… [he] patiently plays the dollar slots. And it’s not like he’s 40, conceding to age. Patrick Mahomes is playing like a grandpa at the ripe old age of 29.”
Most fans and analysts would agree that the Chiefs haven’t been the most aesthetically pleasing team to watch this season. Nonetheless, they’ve continued racking up wins. And that’s something Bayless can appreciate.
Skip Bayless “can’t argue” with Patrick Mahomes’ success
Mahomes didn’t light up the box score in the AFC Championship. His biggest plays came courtesy of his legs, not his arm. Regardless, he produced one of the best games, from an analytical perspective, of the season.
Mahomes is no longer the swashbuckling young gun fans fell in love with when he was trying to dismantle Tom Brady’s dynasty in New England. These days, for better or worse, he’s winning – and aggravating most of the NFL’s fanbases – at a similar clip. Yes, he turns the ball over quite a bit in the regular season. But when push comes to shove, he – to Bayless’ chagrin – seemingly always delivers.
“Over the last two years, he has 25 [interceptions], second [most] in the entire league… he’s carefully careless in a lot of ways, except in this playoff run… when it comes to Mahomes, I can’t argue with [17-3 in the playoffs]. I can’t argue with his fifth Super Bowl in six years. Are you kidding… can’t get rid of the guy.”
The Philadelphia Eagles are the last obstacle between Kansas City and a third consecutive Lombardi Trophy. The Chiefs are currently 1.5-point favorites to win Super Bowl LIX on FanDuel Sportsbook.
