In his six seasons as the Kansas City Chiefs’ starting quarterback, Patrick Mahomes’ “worst” season-ending result was an overtime loss in the AFC Championship Game.
Even with back-to-back Super Bowl victories in recent years, Mahomes remains driven to elevate his game, according to head coach Andy Reid.
“The one great thing about Patrick is that he’s always going to work at his game and then he always wants more,” Reid said of his star quarterback.
“And so, as coaches, you can’t ask for more than that. That’s why we’re in it. We’re trying to give you one more nugget so you can be greater than you already are.
“That’s what the great players do. They want you to dig as a coach and find something – man, give me something here that can help me become better than what I am.”
Reid highlighted the unique trait that sets great players apart: their insatiable desire for growth and their willingness to push their coaches to uncover new ways to elevate their performance.
Mahomes knows that the road to a potential three-peat is going to be the hardest thing any of the Chiefs have faced in their professional lives.
“You’ve got to come in with that same mentality you had the year before – even a higher intensity,” Mahomes stated upon arriving at training camp.
“Even though we won the Super Bowl last year, we felt like we didn’t play our best football – especially offensively. So, it’s our goal to be better that way. And come in with that mentality every single day.”
Mahomes highlighted the continuity on offense, noting that many key players are returning and understand the areas needing improvement.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously the end result was awesome, but I think a lot of us still have a weird feeling in our mouth because we really didn’t play football the way we wanted to play all year long.
“It wasn’t fun. Every single week, trying to just continue to get better and better and results not paying off the way you want them to – it wasn’t a lot of fun.”
In the 2023 season, Mahomes completed 67.2 percent of his passes, throwing for 4,183 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.
This marked his lowest yardage output since 2019, when he amassed 4,031 yards in 14 games.
This was a stark contrast to his 2022 performance, where he led the league with 5,250 yards and 41 touchdowns while playing all 17 games.
Of course, winning the Super Bowl is the only thing that matters, so this is a great “problem” to have.
As Reid pointed out, the one thing you’ll never have to worry about when it comes to Mahomes is his work-ethic and motivation.
He demands excellence out of both himself and his coaches. That type of standard and accountability is what separates the greats from the legends.
Mahomes is certainly well on his way towards that “legends” category.
What are your thoughts on Reid’s comments?
Do you think Kansas City will actually pull off the historic three-peat? … Or will the feat prove to be just too difficult?
As far as Mahomes, do you think he will end up passing Tom Brady as the GOAT when it’s all said and done???