NFL.com’s Nick Shook recently posted his quarterback rankings, and superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes had a lower finish than expected. According to the analyst, Mahomes is the third-best quarterback in the league, trailing Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles and Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins.
Patrick Mahomes Finishes Third In NFL Quarterback Rankings
The Rationale
Now, it should go without saying that being the third-best quarterback in football is still a good thing. It should also be noted that Shook’s list is solely based on the 2023 season – anything Mahomes accomplished in the past has no bearing on this analysis. However, Mahomes is usually atop lists like these, so falling down to third is newsworthy.
Shook highlights Week 8’s loss to the Denver Broncos as a big reason for his relative stumble. While he acknowledged his receivers didn’t help, the analyst stated that “[t]he difficulties clearly frustrated Mahomes, who made a couple of ugly mistakes in throwing two interceptions…[and] producing another turnover via a strip sack.”
There is no denying that Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos was an ugly one. Kansas City didn’t make it to the endzone and saw their insane winning streak over Denver come to a disappointing close. Mahomes completed 24 of his 38 passes for 241 yards, no touchdowns, and three turnovers. No matter how you slice it, this was a bad day at the office for the two-time league MVP. However, is this singular bad performance enough to justify a relatively low spot like this in the rankings?
Where Does Patrick Mahomes Belong In the Quarterback Rankings?
As mentioned above, Sunday’s contest was a bad performance for Mahomes, but one game is not necessarily emblematic of an entire season. As of this posting, Mahomes is currently third in the league in EPA/play, third in PFF grade, and second in ESPN’s QBR. EPA/play and QBR are results-based statistics, but PFF grade is based on film results. The fact that Mahomes is at or near the top of the league in both metrics shows that he’s still among the best at his job. It should also be noted that Hurts trails Mahomes in every aforementioned category, and Tagovailoa’s EPA/play and QBR are lower than Mahomes’.
Stats are useful, but they can’t tell the whole story. Throughout the early portion of his career, Mahomes had arguably the best supporting cast in football. Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill formed one of the most dangerous duos in NFL history, and Andy Reid is arguably the best offensive mind of his generation. Kelce and Reid are still here, but there is no denying that this offense is lacking playmakers. Kansas City never found a true replacement for Hill. Kadarius Toney has crashed and burned, Marquez Valdes-Scantling is a one-trick pony, and while Rashee Rice has shown some signs of life, he’s still just a rookie. Quite frankly, it’s pretty impressive that Mahomes has been this effective with a relatively pedestrian supporting cast.
Tagovailoa, meanwhile, has Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and one of the few people in the league that can match Reid’s offensive genius in Mike McDaniel. The former first-round pick has come a long way from the Brian Flores days, but there is no denying that he is not nearly as good as his raw stats indicate. Hurts, meanwhile, doesn’t have the same schematic advantages, but he does have the best offensive line in football a superstar receiver in A.J. Brown, and two strong supporting threats in Dallas Goedert and DeVonta Smith. Hurts and Tagovailoa are both great players, but neither one deserves a higher spot than Patrick Mahomes in the quarterback rankings.
Main Photo: Ron Chenoy – USA Today Sports
