Hurts Isn’t Alone; Chiefs’ Mahomes Should Change, Too

Chiefs should be asking Mahomes to change, too

What makes Hurts relevant to the Chiefs isn’t simply the fact that he outplayed Patrick Mahomes in two of the last four Super Bowls. This season, the Chiefs are also believed to be asking Mahomes to change. And if they’re not, they should be.

They should be because the Chiefs signed Kenneth Walker. Adding the running back gives the Chiefs a pair of Super Bowl MVPs in the same backfield, but Walker last year thrived in the Shanahan-McVay offense. That’s not the Chiefs.

That scheme relies heavily on under-center snaps and play-action looks to freeze linebackers, bootleg passes and plenty of zone-blocking schemes in the run game. And like Hurts, Mahomes has always been more of a shotgun, RPO passer. Mahomes rarely goes under center and, despite solid passing numbers in limited snaps out of play-action, the Chiefs have kept him in his comfort zone.

The strategy worked well with Tyreek Hill in Kansas City and Travis Kelce in his prime, from 2018-22. But over the past three seasons, it’s been as efficient as diesel in an unleaded engine.

Numbers are brutal since 2023

Mahomes since 2023 ranks 19th in completion percentage (66.0), fifth in passing yards (11,698), 22nd in interception percentage (2.1) and 21st in passer rating (92.0). Over the same period, only seven other players have been sacked more often than Mahomes (97).

And unless Kansas City changes its offense to incorporate more Shanahan-McVay principles, the Chiefs won’t get the mileage they need from Walker, who signed a three-year, $43.05 million deal with $28.7 million guaranteed.

If the Chiefs are expecting Walker to change to fit their offense – rather than altering their offense with more under-center, play-action and zone-blocking looks – that’s a losing strategy. Obviously, Kansas City won’t wholesale its entire playbook. It doesn’t need to. Incorporating more Shananan-McVay elements into first and second downs should do the trick.

Mahomes going under center more on early downs would do wonders for the Chiefs’ productivity.

Walker doesn’t need to be on the field on third downs. Some combination of Emari Demercado, Brashard Smith and Justin Fields can handle that part of the gameplan.

The sudden spike in pressure on Hurts is interesting. Since 2021, Hurts ranks among the league’s best starting quarterbacks in winning percentage (.695, 57-25). But the Eagles are in the same boat as the Chiefs. The Super Bowl cousins from different conferences have met five times over the last five seasons.

If they meet again this year, it won’t be until Super Bowl 61 at SoFi Stadium. And they won’t get there unless Hurts and Mahomes change their games.