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    • Why Chiefs QB is off to a slow start in 2024
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    Why Chiefs QB is off to a slow start in 2024

    Umito Posted on

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    THE Kansas City Chiefs are off to a strong start in their quest for an unprecedented Super Bowl three-peat. They are the last undefeated team in the NFL for the 2024 season and are poised to challenge for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

    The most impressive part of Kansas City’s fast start? THE Chefs have achieved perfection despite Patrick Mahomes‘ below average performance.

    Mahomes remains one of the most talented quarterbacks in the NFL and has often flashed high-end playmaking ability in 2024. That said, he hasn’t been the same as the NFL’s explosive passers are used to seeing. He also struggled with turnovers and entered Week 8 with the pace to lead the league in steals.

    So what’s wrong with Mahomes, and how can the Chiefs fix it to become even more of a juggernaut? Here are the statistics behind the slow caller start.

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    Patrick Mahomes Statistics 2024

    Below is a look at Mahomes’ stats entering Week 9 and where he ranks league-wide in notable passing categories.

    • Comp. %: 68.4 (8th)
    • Overtaking course: 1,651 (16th)
    • Pass the TDs: 8 (T-16th)
    • INT: 9 (T-Plus)
    • Yards/attempt: 7.3 (15th)
    • Passing mark: 84.9 (22nd)
    • QBR: 66.9 (7th)
    • PFF quality: 81.7 (6th)

    Mahomes’ rate stats all look solid, as he ranks top 10 in completion percentage and QBR while sporting a rock solid build. PFF quality. However, there is a major gap between those last two stats and the quarterback’s passer rating, which ranks 22nd among 31 qualified quarterbacks this season.

    The reason for this? Mahomes entered Week 9 tied for first in the NFL with nine interceptions. He threw picks on 4% of his passes in 2024, ranking fourth behind only Will Levis (5.6%), Anthony Richardson (5.3%) and Jordan Love (4.6%).

    For context, Mahomes’ previous worst interception season came in 2023, when he threw a career-high 14 picks that year and had a 2.3 interception percentage. His current pace puts him on track to beat his old number with 22 steals.

    The positive side for Chiefs fans? Mahomes is on pace to post a career-best completion percentage and remains on track for a 4,000-yard passing season. As such, he should quickly be able to turn what has personally been a difficult start to the season into a good one if he can cut down on his turnovers.

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    What is wrong with Patrick Mahomes?

    Mahomes’ struggles to start the 2024 NFL season can largely be attributed to his inability to find consistent success as a downfield passer.

    Mahomes entered Week 9 having attempted 59 passes of 10+ yards down the field, according to Focus on professional football. He completed 55.9% of those passes for 743 yards, three touchdowns and seven interceptions. Those seven interceptions all qualified as turnover-worthy plays, giving him a turnover-worthy play (TWP) percentage of 11.9% on intermediate to deep passes. He had a 7.7 TWP percentage on similar passes in 2024.

    Mahomes’ struggles in the intermediate to deep area of ​​the field can partly be attributed to his lack of receiving skills. The leaders lost Brown “Hollywood” to a sternoclavicular injury before the start of the season while Rashee Rice suffered a torn ACL during the team’s Week 4 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. This forced Mahomes to rely heavily on a rookie Xavier Dignecompanion JuJu Smith-Schuster and 35 years old Travis Kelce to carry the team’s passing attack.

    Success in this area has varied, which has pushed the Chiefs toward a more run-oriented approach. They entered Week 9 completing just 52.1 percent of their plays, good for 23rd in the NFL, after ranking at least 10th in the category in Mahomes’ first six seasons as a holder. The decrease in throwing opportunities naturally led to a drop in some of the veteran’s counting stats.

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    It also didn’t help that Mahomes and the Chiefs struggled with multiple security “protective blankets” in 2024. These covers – and more particularly, the two-height safety shell – is designed to prevent quarterbacks from making explosive throws downfield against a defense. This strategy explains why Mahomes and the Chiefs have struggled to push the ball beyond 10 yards down the field in 2024.

    It’s also fair to acknowledge that Mahomes has had some bad luck in this area of ​​the field. After all, his seven turnover-worthy plays have all been interceptions.

    Nonetheless, Mahomes must improve in this area to unlock the full potential of Kansas City’s offense. This will force him to make safer decisions with the ball, especially when determining whether to throw into tight coverage or take shots downfield. Further checks might not excite Chiefs fans, but if it helps cut down on his turnovers, it would be a step in the right direction for Kansas City’s scoring.

    Of course, solving the problem could be as simple as getting Mahomes to develop chemistry with his downfield weapons. Worthy, a 2024 first-round pick, could become a serious threat as the season progresses. New addition DeAndre Hopkins also adds an experienced, bigger pass catcher to the group who might be able to generate more separation to help Mahomes.

    Mahomes has plenty of time – and wiggle room – to figure this out. At 7-0, the Chiefs are well positioned for another playoff run and appear to have the defensive strength to be tough in the postseason.

    If Kansas City can get its once-dominant offense back on track, they will become even clearer favorites to hoist the Lombardi Trophy again.

    Umito
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