'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
If Patrick Mahomes hadn't worked himself out of his early-season slump, the Kansas City Chiefs wouldn't be 11-4. The 2018 MVP shockingly struggled at the beginning of the 2021 season, and his slump had fans and the media concerned. But since Week 10, Mahomes has regained some of his old form.
Mahomes still isn't lighting the world on fire, as he did in his first three seasons in the NFL. His yards per attempt still rank as the lowest in his career by a considerable amount. But he's learned to take what defenses give him, and the product has been a much better Chiefs offense.
Patrick Mahomes explains how he got out of his early-season slump
While speaking to NFL Network's James Palmer, Patrick Mahomes explained how he moved on from his struggles from the first half of the year. Palmer elaborated, saying Mahomes is no longer forcing unnecessary deep plays downfield. Instead, Mahomes is trusting his teammates to make up the yards by running after the catch. James Palmer said,
"Patrick Mahomes told me this week that he's not sure he would have been able to get through the rough stretch of a season that he had in the past. He would have tried to force the football too much. He said he would have tried to make too many big plays. But he said that he trusted his group, and he continued to get the football out of his hands into the playmakers hands, and that's a big part of this season. Because over half of their receiving yards have come from yards after the catch."
It's not hard to see why Mahomes has adopted his new mindset. Before he started protecting the ball more, he was among the NFL's leaders in interceptions. His 13 interceptions this year are a career high, but he's thrown just three in his last seven games.
With Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce flanking him, Mahomes doesn't need to do everything. His less-is-more approach has caused the quality of his play to spike drastically. Mahomes' best games of the season came in December, continuing a trend he's had his whole career.
Patrick Mahomes is hot at the right time, which is scary news for the rest of the conference. With the Chiefs' defense being one of the NFL's best units over the second half of the season, they're prevailing on both sides of the ball.
The next step for Mahomes is to lead the Chiefs to the top seed in the AFC, so they have a bye week to prepare. They'll have to beat a tough Cincinnati Bengals team in Week 17 to get there.
