We saw KC use a more balanced offensive attack throughout 2023. And in the passing game specifically, Patrick Mahomes played more basic, so to speak. He was able to thrive in the short and intermediate areas. The deep passing game was a huge work in progress, to begin with. And in key moments, Mahomes and the Chiefs were more of a threat when he was working from under center or with the pass-action game. Simply put, the Chiefs offense, and especially Mahomes himself, had to live with less explosive plays this season.

Patrick Mahomes has been an important leader for this Chiefs team for a while now. But, it was his words of wisdom and adjustments this season that helped get the offense where it needed to go.

Strong belief in his boys

The Kansas City Chiefs struggled with downs throughout the regular season. In all, Kansas City’s pass catchers finished with 44 total drops, the most in the NFL. Beyond those issues, the Chiefs offense struggled with personnel changes in various ways, a lack of separation and a failure to execute certain route concepts. After simplifying the offense at the end of the regular season, Kansas City’s offensive unit has played much louder in this playoff run. A large part of the postseason success has been due to the firm belief that Patrick Mahomes maintained in his playing abilities.

Everyone knows that Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice and Isiah Pacheco didn’t care coming into the playoffs. That trio was the most productive offensive pieces during an up-and-down regular season. However, names like Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Justin Watson have reached the playoffs. That’s because Mahomes gave those guys opportunities, even after they failed earlier in those similar key spots.

Overall, Patrick Mahomes’ leadership has shined in many ways this playoff. He never threw his teammates under the bus publicly when he could have done it again. What’s more, Mahomes was just as quick to point out ways he could have done something better in tight losses. He has continued to chase the boys and target them after previous failures.

Playing fair

In this current playoff run, Patrick Mahomes has adjusted to a much cleaner approach. Taking what the defense is giving him early in games is something he has gotten better at in recent years. But in this particular stretch of the playoffs, that has led to fast starts out of the gate for this Kansas City offense. In managing when to take their shots down the field, defenses have been left guessing and back on their heels far too often. As a result, this has led to some mental mistakes in coverage by opposing defenders.

Elsewhere, Patrick Mahomes has used his legs to build playoff momentum, when needed, once again. His quickness is deceptive when he takes off and runs. Also, Kansas City’s pass rusher is smart when looking to fake a defender in space. On the other hand, his composure in the pocket is leading to easier access points for the rest of the Chiefs offense. When defenses tighten up, that cool, calm and collected nature of Patrick Mahomes is being passed on to his teammates. And they’ve lived off that in these playoffs.

Lethal in big moments

When he’s needed to step up in those big moments, Patrick Mahomes and this Chiefs offense hasn’t blinked. The end of the AFC Championship game took the microphone from KC’s quarterback, who wanted the football to freeze the game. He could have avoided targeting Valdes-Scantling after past mistakes. But, as he mentioned, Mahomes couldn’t pass up this opportunity to give MVS a deep catch, once he saw separation on the field.

In other key moments in the playoffs, Mahomes has allowed others to adjust to a simpler route or make magic after the catch. With those opportunities looking like low-percentage plays, the quarterback has still been accurate with his distribution across the field. In the end, it has led to perfect results for Kansas City in situations where it has to be. Mahomes has had to be absurdly special in past postseason trips. But in this playoff run, he and the Chiefs have almost made it look too easy in big moments. This group is just finding its groove, thanks to the leadership and wisdom of Patrick Mahomes, learning what his role should be this year.