The NFL season for the Kansas City Chiefs couldn’t have started better. With a positive record of 3-0, the reigning champions are moving confidently in their quest for another title. However, their star QB Patrick Mahomes expressed criticism about his performance, prompting none other than Bill Belichick to share his thoughts on the matter.
After securing their third consecutive victory, this time against the Atlanta Falcons, Mahomes confessed that he wasn’t satisfied with his performance throughout the game and in the previous two as well. In light of this, none other than multiple champion Bill Belichick stated that this reflects “the attitude of a champion.”
In his appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, the former New England Patriots coach stated: “One of the things that really jumped out at me was last night when they interviewed Mahomes. They’re 3-0 and you could easily sit there and say they’re on course and here we go again, big win in Atlanta and all that, but there’s Mahomes talking about how bad they’re playing and how much harder they need to work and improve. That’s the attitude of a champion right there.”
“It just jumps off the screen at you. They won a big game and what he’s talking about is how much work they have to do, how much better they need to be, how it all starts with him. I’d still take his performance over a lot of other guys in this league, but here he is putting it on his shoulders. When he says that and you’re another member of the team, it’s hard for you not to take the same attitude and say, If Patrick feels like we’ve got to play better and he’s got to play better, then maybe I have to play better too. I thought that was great leadership.”
Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots reacts as they take on the Tennessee Titans in the first half of the AFC Wild Card Playoff game at Gillette Stadium on January 04, 2020 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Once the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium concluded, where Patrick Mahomes secured another victory for Andy Reid‘s squad, he stated in press remarks: ‘I feel like I haven’t played very well’
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Patrick Mahomes’ unique self-criticism of his game
In another victory for the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes completed 26 of 39 passes for 217 yards, throwing touchdown passes to Rashee Rice and Juju Smith-Schuster, along with one interception.
Despite these numbers, the Kansas City star was very self-critical about his performance. After the game, he made it clear how he plans to move forward from here, emphasizing the importance of focusing on improvement and consistency in his play.
“We’ve been able to win, and that speaks to the character of the team, the grit, and how we’ve been in these situations before. But I’ll speak especially offensively for me, I feel like I haven’t played very well. That’s not a stats thing. I just feel like I’m missing opportunities whenever they’re out there and not throwing the ball in the exact spot I want it to be at,”
Rashee Rice #4 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates a touchdown with Patrick Mahomes #15 and JuJu Smith-Schuster #9 during the second quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Another key area the Chiefs need to improve is the performance of one of their stars, TE Travis Kelce. Head coach Andy Reid maintained a very firm stance regarding Kelce’s slow start to the season.
“They’re working hard at taking Kelce out of the picture. . . If they’re doing that, Rashee is going to get a lot of catches and (Kelce) knows that. . .. Sometime that will level off,” Reid stated.
