I know the media tends to blame or praise the quarterback for everything. It’s a silly concept in reality. Blaming or praising one player on a 53 man roster where coaching means a ton is crazy. When we examine the Patrick Mahomes phenomenon in Kansas City, the Chiefs are going down a dangerous road. While Andy Reid is a fantastic coach, his philosophies are starting to hinder team success. Time management, running the football and defense is overrated in Kansas City. The Chiefs are failing Patrick Mahomes.
Aaron Rodgers has one Super Bowl championship in his 15-year career. The Packers have provided Rodgers ONE top 10 defense in his career. Guess which year he won the Super Bowl? 2010-2011. The year Green Bay ranked 5th in yards allowed they won the Super Bowl. The following year they ranked 32nd in total defense. For a large portion of Rodgers’ career, he’s had no defense. If Aaron Rodgers can’t consistently win titles by himself, then Patrick Mahomes can’t either.
Patrick Mahomes just got outdueled by Ryan Tannehill. Think about that for a second. Imagine putting up 32 points on Tennessee to watch your defense give up 35 to Ryan Tannehill. Scratch that. The defense gave up 28. Damien Williams fumbled and Rashaan Evans returned a fumble to the house. Derrick Henry ran for 188 yards on the KC defense. When Tennessee is putting up this many points on you, there’s a problem.
What does Patrick Mahomes really have? Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce? That’s not enough to win titles. Whoever is in charge of personnel has done a horrific job. The best player the Chiefs have drafted over the last two years is Mecole Hardman. A nice player but no game changing defensive pieces. They gave up way too much draft capital for Frank Clark and got a fraction back for Dee Ford. KC let Justin Houston walk without replacing him. Outside of Chris Jones, Tyrann Mathieu, and Kendall Fuller, this entire defense is replaceable. KC is 31 stopping the run which keeps their great offense off the field. I don’t care who you are. Can’t stop the run, can’t win. Cincinnati is 32nd and Miami is 30th by comparison. Kansas City is giving up an average of 94.9 yards rushing in the 2nd half of games. That mark would be the worst ever if it continues.
The Chiefs have failed to replace Kareem Hunt. Damien Williams is averaging a paltry 3.8 yards per carry. LeSean McCoy has been solid but he carries the football like a loaf of bread and keeps getting benched. Darrel Williams is a glorified fullback. It’s one of the worst running back groups in football.
Can’t stop the run. Can’t run the ball. That’s so much pressure on Patrick Mahomes to be brilliant constantly. In 3 of 4 losses, the defense gave up at least 31 points. Not great. Here’s the concerning part. What happens when you have to pay Patrick Mahomes? Right now Mahomes is on a rookie contract. What happens when you pay him $45 million per year? In starts that Mahomes loses, the Chiefs are giving up 31.3 points per game. That would be the worst mark ever. Kansas City better figure it out before they waste Patrick Mahomes.
