Patrick Mahomes passed the 5,000-yard plateau for the second time in his career on Sunday as the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos 27-24 at Arrowhead Stadium. If that sounds like a massive number, well, it is. Mahomes is now one of only three quarterbacks to ever pass for more than 5,000 yards in a season twice, joining legendary signal-callers Tom Brady and Drew Brees.
Brady hit the mark twice – once in New England and once in Tampa Bay – while Brees passed for over 5,000 yards on an astonishing five occasions as a member of the New Orleans Saints. Mahomes not only hit the mark, but he did so in the Chiefs’ 16th game of the season, removing the asterisk that would have been thrown his way had he eclipsed the milestone next week against the Las Vegas Raiders in the newly added 17th game of the season.
Buy Your Patrick MaGoat Socks Here!!!
Patrick Mahomes Records and Struggles
As with most weeks of an NFL season, Mahomes broke multiple records on Sunday. He is now the second quarterback to start with 11 wins and not a single loss against the same opponent. Mahomes is 11-0 in his career against Denver – the Chiefs are on a 15-game winning streak against the Broncos overall – and he tied Andrew Luck, who went 11-0 against the Tennessee Titans to begin his career with the Indianapolis Colts.
Mahomes passed for 328 yards on Sunday. He needs 430 passing yards to overtake Peyton Manning for the single-season mark of 5,477, which is unlikely but not impossible. A much more probable number is the 180 yards he needs to break the record for individual offensive yards in a season, with the current record being the 5,562 yards set by Brees in his biggest year.
Stunningly, Mahomes didn’t even play all that well in passing for 328 yards. His start to the second half was a bit of a disaster, with Mahomes at one point running through six incompletions in a row over a span of three offensive possessions. The streak was his worst such run of futility this season, and he mixed up missing throws into zones that he makes in his sleep while also being unable to connect with his wide receivers on timing the deep ball.
Even so, Mahomes finds ways to make things work. He has now thrown 27 of his 40 passes to players other than wide receivers. Travis Kelce benefited from this earlier in the season, but his favorite red zone target has become running back Jerick McKinnon. McKinnon picked up two more touchdown receptions yesterday, giving him eight for the year and sitting him in second place on the single-season list for touchdown catches by a running back behind Marshall Faulk (2001), Leroy Hoard (1991), and Chuck Foreman(1975). The way he and Mahomes are connecting, it would be no surprise to see McKinnon tie (or break) the record against the Raiders.
Patrick Mahomes is the Magoat. Buy your Magoat merch today!
