Given the incredible start that he’s made to his NFL career, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the only problem Patrick Mahomes faces is growing bored of being praised, but the reality for the Kansas City Chiefs’ star quarterback is quite different. Despite having led the Chiefs to the divisional championship game in each of his first five seasons as a starter, securing a raft of trophies and awards including a Super Bowl win as an MVP, there are still those who question his ability and decision making. It is clear that this Secret Superhero needs to do more than merely win games to win over his doubters, and it is hard to avoid the conclusion that his detractors are focused more on Patrick’s race than they are on his abilities.
Patrick in his high school pitching days
THE RECORD-BREAKING BACKUP
Patrick was born in 1995 in Texas, the son of a MLB pitcher - also called Patrick - and his mother Randi, a nurse. Patrick Senior was a moderately successful journeyman who turned out for six different MLB sides, and even played a season for the Yokohoma BayStars in a top-level career that spanned eleven seasons, but throughout his career Randi and Patrick II (as he styles himself) remained in Texas. Patrick attended the local public school, Whitehouse High School, where his athletic prowess immediately became apparent, and he represented the school at baseball and basketball as well as football. Many assumed he would follow his father to baseball, and this assumption grew stronger after Patrick pitched a 16 strikeout no-hitter in his senior year. Despite this, he joined up with Texas Tech university as a backup quarterback, even as rumors of his being picked up in the 2014 MLB draft were circulating. Many were confused by his decision, but he would tell the Dallas Morning News: “It's probably the best situation you could possibly have coming into college, being a backup quarterback. I'll get a lot of reps and be able to compete every day. That is appealing, and I do like that.”
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Given the incredible start that he’s made to his NFL career, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the only problem Patrick Mahomes faces is growing bored of being praised, but the reality for the Kansas City Chiefs’ star quarterback is quite different. Despite having led the Chiefs to the divisional championship game in each of his first five seasons as a starter, securing a raft of trophies and awards including a Super Bowl win as an MVP, there are still those who question his ability and decision making. It is clear that this Secret Superhero needs to do more than merely win games to win over his doubters, and it is hard to avoid the conclusion that his detractors are focused more on Patrick’s race than they are on his abilities.
Patrick in his high school pitching days
THE RECORD-BREAKING BACKUP
Patrick was born in 1995 in Texas, the son of a MLB pitcher - also called Patrick - and his mother Randi, a nurse. Patrick Senior was a moderately successful journeyman who turned out for six different MLB sides, and even played a season for the Yokohoma BayStars in a top-level career that spanned eleven seasons, but throughout his career Randi and Patrick II (as he styles himself) remained in Texas. Patrick attended the local public school, Whitehouse High School, where his athletic prowess immediately became apparent, and he represented the school at baseball and basketball as well as football. Many assumed he would follow his father to baseball, and this assumption grew stronger after Patrick pitched a 16 strikeout no-hitter in his senior year. Despite this, he joined up with Texas Tech university as a backup quarterback, even as rumors of his being picked up in the 2014 MLB draft were circulating. Many were confused by his decision, but he would tell the Dallas Morning News: “It's probably the best situation you could possibly have coming into college, being a backup quarterback. I'll get a lot of reps and be able to compete every day. That is appealing, and I do like that.”
He also liked the opportunity to shine when the starting QB was injured; after stepping up for one game against Baylor he broke the Freshman passing record for Big 12 games, with 598 yards and six touchdowns. By his junior year he was breaking all-time records, throwing for 734 yards in a 2016 game versus Oklahoma, which tied the NCAA Division I FBS record for most passes, and broke the record for most offensive yards (819). At the start of January he announced that he would be forgoing his senior year, and take part in the 2017 NFL draft.
JET! CHIP! WASP!
Mahomes was a hot property, but also not seen as the hottest. He was snapped up by the Chiefs as the 10th overall pick, and the second QB to be drafted (after Mitchell Trubisky). He had been drafted as a backup to veteran quarterback Alex Smith, who had successfully led the Chiefs to the playoffs in recent seasons, and was the team’s MVP in 2017 as they won the AFC East with a game to spare. Patrick got his first start in that spare game, leading the Chiefs to a 27-24 win against the Broncos. Smith took the reins again for the playoffs, where the Chiefs were narrowly defeated by the Titans, and at the end of the season it was announced that Smith would be traded to Washington.
Patrick scrambling from deep as he releases the infamous Jet Chip Wasp pass
Patrick Mahomes II was now the starting quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, and he wasted no time in stamping his mark on the side. In his debut season as a starter he set the league alight, becoming only the second quarterback in NFL history to pass for 5000 yards and 50 touchdowns in a season. The Chiefs were eventually stopped in overtime of the AFC Championship game by the Patriots, but Mahomes was showered with awards, including that season’s NFL MVP award, becoming the first ever Chief to win that accolade. The following season he went one better, not only leading the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl appearance in fifty years, but securing a memorable comeback win against the 49ers. With less than nine minutes on the clock the Chiefs were losing 21-10, and facing 3rd down and 15, and trhoughout the game Mahomes had been struggling to find his teammates. With pressure mounting, Patrick called for the ambitious (and now infamous) “Jet Chip Wash” play, and beat enormous defensive pressure to pick out Tyreek Hill for a 44 yard gain, with the pass thrown from 14 yards behind the line of scrimmage. The momentum of the match irrevocably switched, and the Chiefs went on to close the match out with 21 unanswered points.
STREETBALL?!
Incredibly, this display of leadership has not been enough to convince some observers of Mahomes’ qualities. Despite his remarkable record - at the time of writing he has led his team to five straight AFC Championships out of a possible five, and three Super Bowl appearances - there are still those who question his mentality. Notably, in a 2022 article for The Athletic one anonymous NFL defensive coordinator said of him: “We love Mahomes because of his unorthodox throws, not because of his natural pocket presence, and when that disappears, that is when they lose games. I don’t think that is a [top-tier QB]. I think that is a [second-tier QB]. Nothing against the guy. I love the kid. But take his first read away and what does he do? He runs, he scrambles and he plays streetball.”
Many have interpreted these comments as having racial undertones, largely because the “streetball” tag is used with far more regularity about black quarterbacks than their white counterparts. When pressed for his views on the issue, Mahomes has remained diplomatic, but also defended himself and his fellow black quarterbacks: “Obviously, the black quarterback has had to battle to be in this position that we are to have this many guys in the league playing. Every day, we're proving that we should have been playing the whole time. We've got guys that can think just as well as they can use their athleticism. It's always weird when you see guys like me, Lamar [Jackson], Kyler [Murray] kind of get that on them when other guys don't.”
The criticism is also weird simply because it doesn’t seem to tally with reality. At the time of writing Mahomes has a 64-16 record in regular season games, and a 10-3 record in postseason. It would be hard to reconcile these numbers with the idea that the Chiefs lose games because of Mahomes, even without their first Super Bowl victory for fifty years coming about because of his infamous scrambling pass. It is perhaps easier to ascribe these comments to a prevailing culture in football that still views quarterbacking as a white pursuit, and attempts to discourage black athletes from playing in the position. The good news is that thanks to players like Patrick Mahomes, that perception is slowly shifting, and that process will accelerate following Super Bowl LVII, where Patrick will face off against Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles in the first ever Super Bowl contested by two black quarterbacks. Whether either of them gain credit for the result remains to be seen, but this Secret Superhero’s glittering career stands as proof that many of the NFL’s established beliefs about what makes a quarterback could use an on-field review.
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