Coming into the 2022-23 season, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs didn't quite garner the same respect they had in previous years. In a campaign filled with newcomers and changes on the offensive side of the ball, Mahomes wasn't expected by everyone to put up MVP-level numbers. At the tail end of the regular season, however, the 27-year-old is the heavy odds-on favorite to win the award and managed to add another page to his already-loaded resume on Saturday.
Entering the Chiefs' Week 18 road outing against the Las Vegas Raiders, Mahomes was well within striking distance of Drew Brees' 2011 record for the most total yards by a player in a single season. Brees held the crown at 5,562 yards and left a pair of legendary seasons — Peyton Manning's 2013 and Tom Brady's 2021 — behind him but ahead of Mahomes. With Mahomes needing less than 200 yards in Las Vegas to become the new single-season yardage king, he officially passed the mark late in the first half on a third-down run of 15 yards.
Before Saturday's game against the Raiders, Mahomes led all NFL quarterbacks this season in passing yards (5,048), passing yards per game (315.5), total passing touchdowns (40), touchdown percentage (6.4) and QBR (77.8). He also ranked sixth among all signal-callers in rushing yards per carry (5.7) and was eighth among that group in total rushing yards (329) on the year.
While some of his counting stats may not be in line with his MVP-winning 2018 season, Mahomes had already passed that year's total yards mark a week ago. Now, he sits alone atop the record books until another quarterback — possibly even himself down the road — raises the proverbial bar even higher.
More must-reads: