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Patrick Mahomes had a storybook start to his NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs. After sitting on the bench for much of the 2017 season, he was named the starter in 2018.
He proceeded to throw for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns, he won the NFL MVP award and was named a first-team All-Pro. The only thing he failed to do was win a Super Bowl, but he did get close, taking the New England Patriots to overtime in the AFC Championship Game.
It did not take long for Mahomes to reach the mountaintop as he won his first Super Bowl during the 2019 season. He returned the following year, only to fall short to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
All this success came in just his first three years as a full-time starter. So Mahomes coming down to Earth a bit in 2021 should not come as a major shock. He was always destined for a bit of a slump.
Patrick Mahomes cannot be perfect every single year
The word "slump" is almost unfair to describe Mahomes' 2021 season. But the Chiefs got off to a 3-4 start and Mahomes had nine interceptions in that span. Panic set in and fans questioned whether or not he was ever going to look like his old self.
Such a reaction was a tad dramatic because the Chiefs have since rebounded with five consecutive wins. Mahomes enters Week 14 with 25 touchdowns on the year, with the Chiefs still fighting for the top spot in the AFC standings.
This is the type of overanalysis that comes with a contract potentially worth over $500 million. Mahomes is expected to be perfect and that is just not realistic. And yet still, he is going to throw for over 30 touchdowns in what some may consider a "down" year.
Mahomes is still only 26 years old and is in his fourth full season as a starter. He has gone to the Super Bowl twice and has never missed an AFC Championship Game. He is doing what Brady did before him and is thus being held to a similar standard.
The only thing that should matter to Chiefs fans at this point is how Patrick Mahomes plays in the postseason. This is a team that knows how to win and doesn't necessarily need to be the top overall seed to chase a Super Bowl. With that said, the Chiefs may still finish with a lone first-round bye in the conference this year.
Mahomes' version of a 'slump' represents a fantastic season for most NFL quarterbacks. He is on pace to comfortably reach 4,000 yards and will eclipse the 30-touchdown mark rather soon. He also owns a quarterback rating of 92.4 this season, which is a career-low. However, that is still good for 17th in the NFL. So it is average for Mahomes, but still not completely awful in general.
If a 3-4 start is the biggest concern Mahomes will ever generate, Chiefs fans remain in great shape with him as the face of the franchise.
