Quarterback Patrick Mahomes will make his 100th start of the season on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. As of three games remaining in his eighth season, he has likely accomplished more in the NFL than any other player in its history.
Mahomes spent almost his whole rookie season sitting behind starter quarterback Alex Smith, who was already guaranteed a berth in the postseason, until he took the field for the final game of the season against the Denver Broncos.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce reflected on that day and said that Mahomes’ performance gave everyone hope that he could play at a high level.
“Well, I mean, we all were just excited to see him finally go out and cut it loose,” Kelce said. “You know, he had worked his tail off, and he had been in his playbook and worked, you know, been on scout team, thrown around and on top of that, and he was just a fun teammate. So, everybody was excited to see him go out there and just, you know, cut it loose and have some fun. And because we all saw how much he enjoyed practice and enjoyed playing the game of football. But, outside of just, you know, the ability to see the field and and be comfortable out there, you know, he, had a lot of energy. And I just remember it just felt like he took over the game. And, I think that’s what really gave the coaches confidence that he could play, you know, at an extremely high level in this league.”
After taking over as the starting quarterback full-time in 2018, Mahomes had one of the greatest seasons ever, throwing for over 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns while winning the league MVP award. With 99 games played, he has the most wins of any quarterback in history with 77 from the regular season.
Mahomes holds the records for the most passing yards and touchdowns passed in that number of games. Among his many achievements are three Super Bowl victories, three MVP awards from the Super Bowl, two NFL MVPs, and three All-Pro choices. At 35 years old, Mahomes will reach 200 in Week 1 of the 2030 season if he doesn’t miss another start. At 333, Tom Brady holds the record for the most quarterback starts.
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