For fans of the Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes is their man that can do anything.
Yes, he’s shown spectacular passes to players while not looking.
He’s also taken the Chiefs to two Super Bowls in his young career.
However, he isn’t as great as some fans claim he is.
He has outstanding talent, and he has shown superstar abilities.
But he’s also shown he can be a little overrated with fans.
How can an excellent quarterback be overrated?
There’s three reasons Mahomes is overrated with NFL fans.
3. He Hasn’t Played The Same Since Super Bowl 55
Ever since that Super Bowl 55 game were the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were throwing him around like a rag doll, he hasn’t looked the same.
He actually was playing hurt in that Super Bowl after suffering an injury during the AFC Divisional game against the Browns.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs is sacked by outside linebacker Mack Wilson #51 of the Cleveland Browns, Mahomes is injured on the play and leaves in the third quarter of the AFC Divisional Playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 17, 2021 in KC.
— Stove Knows Football (@ensting1) January 17, 2021
While he was cleared by medical staff with being able to play, he showed the effects of that injury he suffered against Cleveland.
He just hasn’t been like himself since that Super Bowl, where he threw zero touchdowns and two interceptions.
Instead of making amazing passes, he looked off with some of his passes during 2021.
While his problems could be something short-term, it would be disastrous for Kansas City if he were to regress this soon during his career.
2. He Had Two Second Half Meltdowns Against The Bengals
During Mahomes’ 2019-20 NFL season, he had two AFC playoff games where he brought his team back from the brink of defeat.
However, against the Cincinnati Bengals this past year, he did the complete opposite.
In the regular season, Mahomes went into halftime with two touchdown passes and a 28-17 lead over the Bengals.
But he would flounder and not score another touchdown in the second half.
All he could muster was getting his team into range for one successful field goal attempt.
Kansas City would lose that game, 34-31.
When the AFC Conference Championship was on the line, Mahomes failed again.
While some can blame coaching for not taking the points, the star quarterback couldn’t deliver when his team needed it.
I’m happy for the Bengals. It’s not like we lost to Tom Brady. For the love of god take the field goal before the half. Chiefs were out coached today.
— Patrick Lane (@STLPatrick) January 30, 2022
He only got three points for Kansas City because he was shut down by the Bengals defense yet again.
Superstar quarterbacks don’t settle for three, they score touchdowns.
1. He Didn’t Dominate Weak Defenses Like He Should Have In 2021
Going against a 2-5 New York Giants team on Monday Night Football should have seen Mahomes dominating the game.
However, he went 29/48 for 275 yards with only one touchdown and one interception.
The Chiefs won 20-17 at home, but the game was closer than it should have been.
He also got shut down by the Tennessee Titans the week before, a loss that saw him pulled from the game.
Against the Green Bay Packers defense, he only had 166 passing yards and one touchdown.
Those games should have seen him take a commanding lead.
However, he disappointed people with his performance in those games.
If you can’t dominate the easy teams, how can you become the greatest quarterback of all time?
That’s why Mahomes is overrated, even though his fans never see it that way.
The “easy teams”? Packers were 13-4 and playing some of their best defense all year, Titans won their division with a 12-5 record, Bengals went to the Super Bowl and almost won. Giants D was actually decent.
The real problem with Mahomes is the coaching staff’s inability to find him affective ways of beating schemes with 8 pass protectors. But he’s not alone there. A lot of better QBs are now facing that strategy and few of them are able to play at an elite level because of it. It’ll be interesting to see who creates a way of negating that scheme. I don’t believe it will be in KC though. Reid isn’t exactly a spring chicken. It’ll take some new eyes to see that solution.