Four games, four wins. The Kansas City Chiefs have given their fans very little to complain about so far this season. Patrick Mahomes, on the other hand, has found something about his own performance that he'd like to clean up.
Speaking with reporters on October 14th, the Chiefs quarterback acknowledged that he's been hanging onto the football longer than he should. It's something he's dealt with before, and after reviewing his performance against the Las Vegas Raiders, he doesn't want to make a habit of it again.
Patrick Mahomes wants to get rid of an old habit
For years, one of Mahomes' greatest strengths has been his willingness to keep a play alive when everything seems to be falling apart. Defenders can have him surrounded, and somehow he'll find a receiver 20 yards downfield.
Of course, that approach doesn't work every time.
Mahomes noticed that against Las Vegas, he was occasionally waiting too long for something to develop instead of taking what the defense was giving him.
"I feel like there was times I was holding the ball a little longer than I had in the previous games," Mahomes said.
He doesn't plan on abandoning the deep ball. Why would he? Kansas City has been getting those opportunities, and Mahomes wants to keep taking them.
The adjustment comes when nothing opens up downfield. Rather than waiting around and giving defenders another chance to hit him, he'd prefer to find an available receiver and move on to the next play.
It sounds simple enough, although anyone who has watched Mahomes throughout his career knows how difficult it can be for him to give up on a play.
That's part of what makes him so entertaining to watch. It's also why he occasionally takes hits that could have been avoided.
Kansas City's offense still has room to improve
The Chiefs have done a nice job changing things up offensively this season. Kenneth Walker III has given them a productive running game, and Mahomes has spent more time operating under center.
He's embraced the change, especially with the opportunities it creates for play-action passes. But Mahomes doesn't believe the offense has played its best football yet.
"I think the biggest thing is about being more consistent kind of throughout the game," he explained.
Kansas City has put together plenty of explosive plays. In fact, the Chiefs rank fourth in the league in explosive play rate at over 22%.
What Mahomes wants now is fewer stretches where the offense struggles to move the ball methodically. He also pointed to his own decision-making, particularly how quickly he works through his reads.
That's worth paying attention to because Mahomes said his receivers are getting open. He's not suggesting the offense needs an entirely different approach or that his teammates aren't doing their jobs.
He believes he can do a better job getting them the football.
And with the Chiefs already sitting at 4-0, improving in that area could make an offense that's been difficult to defend even more dangerous.
Travis Kelce's influence goes beyond catching passes
Mahomes also offered some insight into how he's working with Kansas City's younger receivers.
Interestingly, he credited Travis Kelce for helping him develop that approach.
When Mahomes first took over as the Chiefs' starter, Kelce would regularly talk with him about what he was seeing during plays. Those conversations helped them understand how the other was thinking, something that eventually became a major part of their success together.
Now Mahomes is trying to do the same thing with the younger players.
He talks through routes with them during practice and checks in after plays when something doesn't go as expected. The hope is that those conversations eventually become second nature once they're on the field together.
It's a useful approach for a team that continues working younger receivers into the offense.
As for Patrick Mahomes' old habits, he's already identified what he wants to change. Getting rid of them won't mean he suddenly stops making those ridiculous throws that have frustrated defenses for years.
He just wants to be a little more selective about when he tries them.
The Chiefs have managed to win every game so far without playing exactly the way their quarterback wants. That's a pretty comfortable position to be in heading into the next stretch of the season.
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