The Kansas City Chiefs got a lot of attention this NFL season, particularly with Taylor Swift showing up in the stands to cheer on boyfriend Travis Kelce, Chiefs tight end. While Kelce’s high-profile relationship with Swift brought a lot of new eyes to the game, it was Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs quarterback, who helped lead the team to their fourth Super Bowl appearance in five years where they managed to get their second win in a row in a nail-biting overtime finish. As the starting (and star) quarterback, the team and the fans look to Mahomes as a leader, and it’s a job that he takes seriously, so he’s not afraid to call out his teammates. Just ask former Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who played with Mahomes when the first quarterback joined the team in 2017 until 2022 when Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins.
On an episode of The Pivot Podcast in March 2024, Hill talked about a time when Mahomes was getting irritated with the offense and how they were playing: “That was a moment right there where he stood on business and it was like, ‘Bro, I really respect this,’ because he really just called out all his weapons individually, pointed us out, looked us in the eyes and said, ‘Bro? Reek? You think you’re so … fast, but you can’t catch the … ball. You want to be the best receiver in the game?’ And he was letting me have it.”
Patrick Mahomes will call out anyone who needs to step it up, himself included
Patrick Mahomes may have evolved over the years, but you can still see that tough love for his teammates on display. On the sidelines of the 2023 Christmas day game where the Chiefs lost to the Las Vegas Raiders, cameras caught him enthusiastically encouraging/yelling at some on his offensive line, via NFL on CBS. In the post-game press conference, he talked about his mindset of trying to keep everyone amped up. What seems like the most frustrating situation for Mahomes is when he and/or his teammates aren’t playing as well as he knows they can.
Mahomes clearly stands out as a passionate leader for the Kansas City Chiefs, ready to call out his teammates as needed and help get them amped up and inspired to turn things around. He also stands out as a good leader for his ability to not just take the credit for the wins and good plays, but to also own his mistakes and slips when he makes them — he doesn’t just blame others when things don’t go well and he wants to lead by example. In October 2023, he said in a post-game press conference, “I think if I start playing better, everybody will start playing better.”
Chiefs teammates appreciate Patrick Mahomes
Patrick Mahomes’ dedication to the game and to the Kansas City Chiefs shines through on the field, and his teammates definitely notice and appreciate it. Shane Buechele, who played for the Chiefs in 2021 and 2022 said of Mahomes: “I think it’s easy in his position — the best player in the league — to kind of put himself on a pedestal, but he does everything the right way. … He always puts his team first,” per USA Today. Travis Kelce has also raved about how Mahomes inspires the team: “He has fun [playing] with the guys that he has around him, and we rally around that. We rally around that excitement, that want and that desire to win with the guys next to us,” via USA Today.
Before the back-to-back wins in 2023 and 2024, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 2020, which makes Mahomes, at age 28, the second youngest player to win three Super Bowls — add that to the list of things you didn’t know about Mahomes. It sounds like he doesn’t want the Super Bowl records to end there; he’s hoping to make it a “three-peat” for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024. It would be something that no other NFL team has done before. If anyone can do it, we think that Mahomes is the Chiefs’ best chance to do so. He’s certainly got the talent, leadership skills, and respect of his teammates.
