After a shaky 2-3 start to the season, the Kansas City Chiefs appear to have rediscovered their rhythm and their swagger with three straight wins. And Monday night’s 28-7 win over the Washington Commanders was yet another reminder of how quickly Patrick Mahomes and company can shift gears from average to unstoppable.
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The offense — powered by the “AAF” (Aggressive As Fu*k ) mantra now printed across team-issued T-shirts — has been nothing short of explosive. The Chiefs have scored on more than half their offensive drives this season, rank second in the NFL in efficiency, and lead the league in total touchdowns.
Talisman Mahomes has averaged 7.7 air yards per attempt, his highest since 2020. It all but signals a return to the deep-shot, fearless version of himself that once took the NFL by storm.
Against the Commanders, Mahomes was electric in the second half, as he completed 25 of 34 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns, rebounding from two early interceptions to orchestrate three consecutive scoring drives.
Simply put, the Commanders’ defense had no answer, not for the QB’s no-look lasers, nor for his ability to turn collapsing pockets into playgrounds of precision.
That’s exactly why Emmanuel Acho believes the 3x Super Bowl winner remains firmly in the MVP race, regardless of what the stat sheet might suggest.
“Patrick Mahomes… it’s clear he’s a top-five MVP candidate,” Acho said on the latest episode of SpeakEasy. “And the stats don’t even tell the story of how good Patrick Mahomes is. He leads the NFL in total touchdowns right now — 21 — and a lot of the negative plays on his stat sheet aren’t even his fault.”
Acho added some context, saying how Mahomes started the season without Rashee Rice, lost Xavier Worthy to injury, and had to rely on Tyquan Thornton for much of the early stretch, all while serving as both the team’s top passer and, at times, its most reliable rusher.
“You start the season off with no Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy gets hurt, you’re doing everything for that team… that’s MVP caliber to me,” the analyst concluded.
That said, while Acho placed Mahomes just outside his top three MVP candidates, behind Drake Maye, Matthew Stafford, and Jonathan Taylor, he made it clear that the Chiefs star remains one of one when it comes to elevating an entire franchise.
LeSean “Shady” McCoy, who once played alongside Mahomes in Kansas City, echoed the same sentiment. “Pat looks good. He’s putting the team back on his back… He’s confident… a straight-up gangster on that field. He wants to win, and he cares about being the best, even if he doesn’t say it,” said the former running back.
Seeing this renewed fire in Mahomes after a quiet 2024 season reminded McCoy of a story that perfectly captured the QB’s certainty in himself: “We were in the training room once, and they were talking about Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady — who’s QB1. Pat turned the TV off and said, ‘I’m quarterback one.’ Then he walked out. That’s who he is.”
It’s this inner fire masked behind polite press conferences and family-man composure that makes Patrick Mahomes’ dominance so quietly ruthless. And now, when the Chiefs are surging back into form, that fire seems to be burning brighter than ever.
Because, as Acho said, for all the numbers, accolades, and MVP conversations, the true measure of Mahomes is in the way his presence alone keeps Kansas City believing that no game, no deficit, and no season is ever out of reach. This is why he’s the literal embodiment of the word talisman in the NFL.
