In the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, Patrick Mahomes was chosen by the Kansas City Chiefs. He has since developed into one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks, taking home two MVP awards and two Super Bowls.
Mahomes will participate in his fourth Super Bowl on Sunday. The now 28-year-old has made it to the AFC Championship Game each of his six seasons as a starting quarterback. Mahomes has had experiences over the years that have shaped him as a man and as a quarterback.
Mahomes has changed since raising his first Vince Lombardi trophy following Super Bowl LIV. He was a different player and person then. Mahomes credits parenting with helping him evolve. “I believe that becoming a father teaches you a lot, guy. Ahead of Super Bowl LVIII this week, Mahomes stated, “You learn how to be patient.”
Mahomes’s function as a quarterback and his role as a father can occasionally overlap, with one position effectively improving the other.
“You learn how to work at trying to give people—especially your children—a lot more confidence. It’s important to maintain hope throughout difficult circumstances and to avoid being overly pessimistic, as I’ve learned during the past year. Just keep giving individuals confidence boosts, keep working hard, and exercise extreme patience.”
This season, Mahomes’ patience has undoubtedly been tested, particularly in regards to the Chiefs wide receiver group. Because of the large number of passes that were dropped this season, the group was under continual criticism.
During a Monday night game against the Eagles in Week 11, Marquez Valdes-Scantling had a crucial drop in the fourth quarter that essentially decided the Chiefs’ fate. One of the New England Patriots’ players was able to intercept a throw from quarterback Patrick Mahomes in a game in December thanks to a tip from Kadarius Toney.
With the Chiefs offense committing the second-most penalties in the league, Mahomes also had to be patient. Mahomes was able to control his anger at times, but there were other instances when he was unable to do so.
Mahomes had to, in a sense, reinvent himself and become a game manager—something he had previously appeared to detest.
In contrast to their two consecutive Super Bowl victories that have awarded Mahomes a second ring and their title run from four years ago, the Chiefs did not depend only on their offensive to win this season. They had the NFL’s second-best scoring defense, which had to save Mahomes’ side of the ball when it was having severe problems halfway through the season.
He therefore learned to check down to running backs when deep shots were covered, even though he is still capable of making the daring no-look throw or the wizardly rocket past double coverage. He came to terms with the fact that calling audibles to run plays when defenders stacked the line of scrimmage wasn’t the end of the world. In order to keep the time rolling, Mahomes even learned when to accept a sack, which he did against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC title game.
After some thought, Mahomes remarked, “I think guys understood that we could play a different way to win football games.”
“He serves as the igniter. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said of Mahomes, “He’s the reason we’re here and why we can keep coming back to back.” “And honestly, he just gives his team a certain sense of urgency and confidence that we can go and get it done, and that goes a long way.”
Even while he hasn’t always had the patience that comes with experience, Mahomes has always been older than he is. He nearly had to be, since Mahomes was always forced to play against older players in sports like football, basketball, or baseball, his initial love, because he was so much superior to other children his own age.
A grounder was once hit toward him at shortstop in a T-ball game, according to the son of former major league pitcher Pat Mahomes. He fired a laser over the diamond, while most kids that age would have sent a looping rainbow to first base.
“It hit the kid right in the face and broke his glasses,” Mahomes said, “and so they told me after that they wanted me to roll the ball to first base, and I ended up just playing first base and catching it from then on.”