After an ugly 3-4 start to the season, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has mastered the art of the pep talk when taking accountability.
Since taking over the reigns of the Chiefs offense in 2018, Patrick Mahomes has built a lengthy resume on spectacular, unparalleled performance.
So when the Chiefs entered the 2021 season as Super Bowl favorites, seeing Kansas City struggle once again in Week 7 prompted Mahomes to lift up himself and his teammates. Demonstrating true leadership, Mahomes took primary accountability for the team’s lacking success.
“I’ve said something to them, that I’ve got to be better,” Mahomes said, according to ESPN’s Adam Teicher. “At the same time, they have that mindset that they’re going to try to build me up. It’s a thing where you’re not going to play your best game every single game, and that’s when you have to rely on your other guys to kind of step up and make plays for you.”
Since their Super Bowl LV loss, the Chiefs have been mired in a slump that has been difficult to shake. The defense ranks in the bottom of the NFL in several categories, while Mahomes has struggled to make big plays happen that salvage the score.
In Week 7, Mahomes completed just over 57 percent of his passes for 206 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. His 62.3 passer rating was the lowest regular-season mark of his illustrious career.
Patrick Mahomes uplifts himself and teammates with positive thinking
While the primary headline around Super Bowl LV was that the Chiefs lost because of their offensive line, another look at game footage reveals Mahomes making the same exact mistakes that have contributed to the team’s current standing.
“You can just watch the tape and know that I need to play better in order to have success,” Mahomes said. “There were plays where guys were open. There were plays where we had matchups down the field that I didn’t hit that I usually would give those guys opportunities to make plays.”
During the Super Bowl, Mahomes threw two interceptions to zero touchdowns, a shutdown that stunned NFL fans due to his playmaking prowess. But relying on broken plays and running outside of the pocket, something which Mahomes has done his entire career, now stands as a painful Achilles’ heel. Mahomes has thrown an interception in six straight games, and his nine picks on the season are tied for most in the NFL.
“It’s just stuff that I’ve always got to work on, and I kind of lose sometimes during the season and have to get better with,” Mahomes explained. “It’s hanging in the pocket, working on my footwork, staying on time, all that stuff like that.”
Mahomes has everything he needs to become the NFL’s most dominant quarterback, but it will take a little polishing and positive thinking to have the Chiefs transcend the NFL once again.