One of the main storylines this season has been the struggles that Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have been going through. While they have not played up to the level that fans have come to expect from them, they are still 6-4 and have a lead in the AFC West division race entering Week 11. No one should be panicking too much about the Chiefs this early in the year.
Mahomes has been receiving a ton of criticism this season. That comes from rising to the top of the quarterback rankings over the last couple of years and people expecting him to put up unrealistic numbers with zero struggles. However, those critics are beginning to bite their own tongues.
After many high-profile media analysts came out and said that the Chiefs were “done,” and many other things, Kansas City came out and stomped on the Las Vegas Raiders last week.
In the 41-14 beatdown of the Raiders, Mahomes completed 35 of his 50 pass attempts for 406 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions. To say that he came out with a chip on his shoulder would be an understatement. With that performance, the Chiefs are officially back on the map as potential Super Bowl contenders in the AFC and Mahomes should be talked about once again as a potential MVP front-runner.
Looking at the rest of the NFL, no one has looked amazing or unbeatable. The playing field is much more even now than it has been in recent years. Mahomes, however, is still the best quarterback in the entire league.
All of that being said, let's take a look at why Mahomes should be talked about more as an MVP front-runner.
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Why Patrick Mahomes Is An NFL MVP Front-Runner
So far this season, Mahomes has completed 65.8 percent of his pass attempts for 2,940 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He has thrown more interceptions this year, but his numbers have remained stellar.
Outside of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, Mahomes has the most passing yards of any other quarterback. He is also behind just Tom Brady in passing touchdowns, with Brady leading him by two. The criticism and bold statements that Mahomes has been figured out are complete hogwash.
Not only is Mahomes not washed up and done for, but the Chiefs are just as much of a contender as they were last season. Every team in the history of the NFL has had slow starts to the season. Kansas City is no exception, nor should they be held to an unrealistic standard of pure dominance.
At this point in the season, there appear to only be a few front-runners for MVP. Let's take a closer look at who those players are.
Brady, Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott, Josh Allen, Kyler Murray, and Stafford are currently considered to be the leaders for the award. So, explain how Mahomes should be below Jackson, Prescott, Allen, or Murray, when he has better numbers. Team success does come into play, but the Chiefs are turning on the engines over the last few weeks.
Assuming the Chiefs get things figured out and get back on track, how would Patrick Mahomes not be an elite MVP candidate?
No one can truly look at his numbers and call this a bad season from him. Even fewer can say that he has been figured out or that the Chiefs are done for moving forward. In fact, the exact opposite can be said.
So what if Mahomes has thrown 10 interceptions entering Week 11? He has been dominant in all other aspects of the game. Mahomes has also picked up 227 yards and another touchdown on the ground, by the way.
His numbers stack up with every “front-runner” that the national media is talking about. In fact, his numbers are much better than some of those claimed “front-runners.” With that in mind, it's time to change the narrative a bit.
How about the fact that the Chiefs got off to a slow start, but because of their superstar quarterback they will be just fine. Maybe instead of talking about 10 interceptions thrown, we look at the huge numbers he has posted elsewhere and realize that he is human. In fact, no one truly knows how the rest of the season will go, and it appears that Mahomes is heating up for the Chiefs at the right time.
We can't predict the future either, so Mahomes may not end up in the running for MVP. But, at this point in the year, he absolutely should be talked about as one of the favorites for the prestigious award. Despite having a “slow start,” Patrick Mahomes has been just as good if not better than the elite MVP contenders everyone is talking about.
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