In the second quarter of their 31-0 shutout victory over the Raiders in Week 7, the Chiefs had just marched past midfield. That’s when Patrick Mahomes faked out everyone, including his own receiver.
Mahomes delivered a no-look strike to Rashee Rice, who was “zero percent” sure that the pass was coming his way. It resulted in a 12-yard gain that set up the third of the Chiefs’ four touchdowns.
“I told him he threw me off with that,” Rice said postgame. “He no-looked the whole team. I was just ready for the ball.”
No-look passes aren’t new for Mahomes. But in many ways, the play epitomized where this Kansas City offense is right now. Rice was playing in his first game in 13 months — due to a season-ending injury in 2024 and a six-game suspension to start this year — and Mahomes still had the trust in the connection to attempt that kind of throw.
The swagger we saw at the beginning of the Mahomes era is back in the Chiefs’ offense.
It’s an explosive unit, one that the Commanders (3-4) will have to contend with on Monday night in Kansas City. The Chiefs (4-3) have won four of their past five games entering Week 8.
“When we don’t beat ourselves and just stay ahead of the sticks, we can do good things,” offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said earlier this month. “But consistency, you have to be able to do that every week, and you can never get complacent. Those two words, I think, go hand in hand. If we do that, stick together and keep that edge, it can be a special, special year.”
Offensively, Kansas City ranks in the top six in the NFL in several categories. Among them are, per Next Gen Stats, scoring (26.6 points per game), total offense (370.6 yards per game), third-down efficiency (44.4%) fourth-down conversion rate (80.0%), plays per drive (7.2), points per possession (2.92), red-zone attempts (30) and EPA per play.
The Chiefs have scored at least 28 points in four straight games for the first time since 2021.
“I joke around with those guys [on offense] and say, ‘Don’t score in three minutes,’” linebacker Nick Bolton said Saturday. “‘Keep the eight-minute, nine-minute drives out there so we’re always fresh.'”
Mahomes’ MVP-level play is a major factor in the offensive success.
He’s throwing deep at his highest rate since 2020 (11.3%), per NGS, and is coming off a game in which he had his top three wide receivers — Rice, Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown — available for the first time. With a healthy cast of targets, Mahomes’ passing numbers should continue to rise.
Entering Week 8, he’s completed 66.1% of his passes for 1,800 yards and 14 touchdowns against just two interceptions.
“Are you going to sit back and let us throw stuff underneath?” Mahomes said earlier this month. “Or are you going to come up and have to deal with all that speed running down the field? And so, that’s a good problem to showcase towards defenses.”
Here’s another problem for defenses: Mahomes is also having a career year as a rusher. Through seven games, he’s already matched a career-high for rushing touchdowns in a season (4). He’s also pacing for career highs in rushing yards per game (35.7) and rushing yards per attempt (6.0). The two-time MVP leads the league in scramble rush attempts (33) and scramble touchdowns (3), and ranks second in scramble yards (248), according to Next Gen Stats.
Even in his ninth NFL season, Patrick Mahomes is running and scrambling at a career-best rate. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Mahomes has been kept upright, too. He’s been pressured on just 22.6% of his dropbacks, per NGS. That’s despite the fact that starting left tackle Josh Simmons has missed the past two games, and will miss his third Monday.
Mahomes has three games with a 120-plus passer rating in the past four games, after only having two such games in the 19 games previous to Week 4.
“I felt good these last few weeks, especially, and I think it all starts with the offensive line,” Mahomes said. “When they’re blocking the way they’re blocking, it gives me a lot of confidence to sit in the pocket and make these throws down the field, and then when that’s not open, hit the guys underneath and let them make plays happen. You have to continue to steadily build on that.”
If they keep building, the Chiefs — in large part due to their rejuvenated offense — could be back in the Super Bowl conversation by season’s end.
Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.
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