QB1 in the National Football League is not an official crown. It is not the end-game prize for any competitor, nor is it definitively awarded. However, the subjective title of QB1 has belonged to the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes for a remarkably long stretch of time.
Mahomes burst onto the scene in his first year as a starter in 2018, becoming just the second quarterback in league history to throw for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns (Denver’s Peyton Manning became the first in 2013). In that magical season, Mahomes led the Chiefs’ supreme offense all the way to an overtime loss in the AFC Championship Game—a game in which the offense didn’t even receive an opportunity to touch the football. Despite the loss, the tone had been set. There was a new sheriff in town.
The title of QB1 had been tossed around for years; dating back to 2000, it was Brett Favre in Green Bay and Manning in Indianapolis for a long time. Tom Brady and the Patriots kept winning Super Bowls while Drew Brees set records in New Orleans. The Packers traded Favre in for a newer model in Aaron Rodgers. Brady never really went away. And all that is said without mentioning the names Roethlisberger, Rivers, or Ryan. The conversation even predated Twitter wars, but it was certainly an interesting one, as several talented quarterbacks had a strong claim.
The proverbial “championship belt” of being QB1 was steadily tugged in multiple directions, rarely in anyone’s sole possession. And even if a player managed a firm hold on the belt, it wasn’t for long. Brees eclipsed 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in 2011 and 2012, but Brady was right on his heels. Manning played at an elite level for two years in Denver but missed several games in his final season before dragging the Broncos through the playoffs for one last Super Bowl ring before his retirement.
Fantasy GMs got big numbers from Brees, Manning, and Brady, and fans witnessed electrifying plays from Michael Vick, Matthew Stafford, and Cam Newton. But no one had packaged both into one player—a quarterback who combined eye-popping highlight reels and elite statistics while routinely guiding his team deep into the playoffs year after year.
Patrick Mahomes looked like QB1 from the beginning
Enter: Patrick Mahomes.
Even in the preseason, a 69-yard bomb to Tyreek Hill in Atlanta put the entire league on notice that the arm was for real. Four touchdown passes in the season opener against the L.A. Chargers and six more in Week 2 at Pittsburgh put Mahomes firmly on top of the production conversation.
On top of the benefits he provided his fantasy football owners, Mahomes was making a name for himself with his Jordan-esque play at the position. His remarkable ability to twist and turn while throwing dots in every direction had never been seen before. A holy-cow-did-you-see-that scrambling touchdown in Week 3 against the 49ers. A week later in Denver, in his first performance in primetime, Mahomes had an opportunity to lead a game-winning drive. The Chiefs had 3rd-and-5 near midfield with under four minutes on the clock. Mahomes scrambled to his left, and with the nation’s eyes upon him, he spontaneously did the unthinkable. Even announcers Joe Tessitore and Jason Witten weren’t quite sure what they had seen until the replay confirmed it: with All-Pro pass rusher Von Miller in hot pursuit, Mahomes knew he couldn’t throw the pass with his right hand. So he put it in his left.
The nickname discussion began immediately. “Showtime” was born. Even in his first loss a few weeks later, a 43–40 nail-biter at New England, all the talk was about Mahomes. By mid-November, the Chiefs were 9–1 and Mahomes was averaging over 300 yards passing per game. The Chiefs then traveled to Los Angeles and played a game that is still talked about as one of the greatest and most explosive games of all time. By the time the dust settled and the clock hit zeroes, the Chiefs were on the short end of a 54–51 barnburner. After racking up 478 yards and six touchdowns, Mahomes became the first quarterback in league history to lose a game in which his team scored 50 points. The magic continued later in the year against the Ravens with a no-look pass and then a miracle 4th-down completion en route to another clutch win, this one in overtime.
Mahomes capped off the regular season with a dominating performance in which the Chiefs embarrassed the Raiders, 35–3. In that game, he eclipsed 5,000 yards passing and 50 touchdowns on the same play, an 89-yard score to DeMarcus Robinson.
The production was there. Check. The magical playmaking ability was there. Check.
But the elephant in the room was the postseason production. Would the Chiefs’ new miracle man be able to get the team over the hump? Or would Chiefs Kingdom endure yet another marvelous regular season that ended way too early with a playoff loss to the Colts?
Perhaps it was poetic justice that the first playoff opponent for the Chiefs’ new hero was none other than the Colts. After excruciating playoff losses to Indianapolis in 1996, 2003, 2006, and 2013, Mahomes exorcised the demon for all of Chiefs Kingdom in a dominating 31–13 win over Andrew Luck’s Colts. Later that week he would win league MVP before the AFC Championship Game. Though that team failed to make the Super Bowl, it was clear that some changes needed to be made on the other side of the ball and that brighter days were ahead.
2019 brought new staff, new personnel, and new hope. Culminating with a masterful 4th-quarter comeback, the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers to win Super Bowl LIV and became the darlings of the NFL.
Fast forward a few years: the Chiefs have continued to collect Lamar Hunt and Lombardi Trophies and have even become that team that opposing fan bases are just tired of. No one knows exactly when it happened, but the fact is, nobody hates you until you’re winning. Eventually, the Chiefs embraced the Darth Vader helmet and continued their dominance in the NFL. None of it would exist without Mahomes, who has continued to deliver in the air and on the ground through his eight years as a starter.
During the Mahomes era, the Chiefs have never missed an AFC Championship Game. In fact, the AFC has yet to eliminate Mahomes by the end of regulation time in the Conference Championship. Mahomes has also maintained a stranglehold over the AFC West throughout his career, but something flickered last Sunday in Denver. The team’s streak of division titles is still technically alive at nine straight, but any notion of that continuing is on life support.
The playmaking ability is still there. Mahomes’ scrambling ability in particular has become a key component to his heroics. What began with a superhuman run just before halftime against the Titans in the 2019 AFC Championship Game evolved into a consistent part of his game. Mahomes’ 26-yard run with just three minutes remaining in the 4th quarter of Super Bowl LVIII is what led to Harrison Butker’s game-winning field goal. And there have been numerous other pivotal scrambles that have displayed not only the quarterback’s athleticism, but also his awareness of down and distance—doing just enough to propel his team closer to victory.
There’s also Mahomes’ ability to overcome injury. In 2019 he returned from a dislocated knee to bring the team to its first Super Bowl in 50 years. In 2020 he overcame a playoff injury suffered against the Browns and led the Chiefs to a convincing win over the Bills in the AFC Championship. In 2022 he was injured once again in the divisional round, suffering a high ankle sprain vs. the Jaguars; he defeated the Bengals and then the Eagles on that ankle, executing clutch scrambles in key moments of both games. Mahomes again injured the ankle in December of 2024, but pulled through to propel the Chiefs to the first-round postseason bye anyway.
The talent. The stats. The “it” factor. The clutch play. The Super Bowl legacy. Each piece of the puzzle has always been there, but it’s the latter that has kept Patrick Mahomes ahead of the field. Since his coronation as QB1 in the NFL, others have set their sights on him. It began with Baker Mayfield, and eventually it became Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow: Who is the next Patrick Mahomes? Though some of the statistics wavered in the post–Tyreek Hill era, Mahomes still has never missed a Super Bowl without him. He has adapted. He has taken whatever has been given to him. Even in his Super Bowl losses (to Tampa Bay and Philadelphia), there were major team factors—in each case, severe losses to his offensive line—that ultimately led to the Chiefs coming up short.
The year Mahomes passed the torch (for now)
The 2025 Chiefs set the table for yet another Super Bowl run. The last, perhaps, in the illustrious career of tight end Travis Kelce. The left tackle position that utterly plagued the 2024 team has been fortified with an elite talent in first-rounder Josh Simmons and a fully capable free agent in Jaylon Moore. Trey Smith was retained and received a huge payday. 2024 draft pick Kingsley Suamataia has found a home on the interior offensive line. Jawaan Taylor has cut down on penalties that had become the bane of his existence in Kansas City. Creed Humphrey is still the best center in the NFL. And there is Mahomes’ own health to factor in as well; unlike playoff runs in seasons past, he isn’t currently hobbled by injury. On top of that, Rashee Rice, Hollywood Brown, and Xavier Worthy are finally healthy and on the field together.
There are no excuses to be made. This was supposed to be the resurgence of the scorched-earth version of Patrick Mahomes from 2018. Instead, last Sunday’s game left Chiefs Kingdom with more questions than answers, and perhaps the most bitter pill of all: Patrick Mahomes is not the NFL’s QB1 anymore.
The Chiefs traveled to Denver with a 5–4 record, needing a win to stay in the hunt for the division title against the Broncos, who entered the game at 8–2. The Chiefs’ backs were against the wall—almost as if the playoffs began early this year—but that is where Mahomes has historically played at his very best. On top of that, KC was coming off their bye week, and Denver was without leading rusher J.K. Dobbins, reigning Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain, and starting middle linebacker Alex Singleton. Every precipitating factor pointed toward the Chiefs “still being the Chiefs” and righting the ship on the road.
Mahomes came out firing, throwing deep on three consecutive passes in the Chiefs’ first possession. But each was off target: first Mahomes overthrew Worthy (which is not easy to do) deep downfield, and on the next play he missed Noah Gray with an absolute missile over the middle. Later in the game Mahomes would try Worthy deep, time and again, but failed to connect. By halftime the Chiefs had six points on two short field goals—the results of sputtered drives near the goal line.
Kansas City was able to put together two second-half touchdown drives. One of them was sustained largely because of a deep pass from Mahomes to Tyquan Thornton. However, the Chiefs fell flat on their face in their final two possessions. Nursing a three-point lead, a gimmicky pass play to seventh-round rookie Brashard Smith led to one three-and-out with 6:50 left in the game. After a Wil Lutz field goal that tied it, Kansas City took over with four minutes to go and sustained yet another three-and-out, ending with an uncharacteristic sack of Mahomes. From there it was Bo Nix, not Mahomes, who took over with the 4th-quarter magic. And that is where we all felt it.
It was a metaphysical changing of the guard.
Joe Burrow has been to a Super Bowl. Lamar Jackson has won multiple MVP awards. Josh Allen has also been knocking on the door for years, winning an MVP of his own in 2024. Despite impressive statistics and highlight-reel plays of their own, each has had one major obstacle in their path toward an all-time legacy: Mahomes. The difference is, Mahomes’ invincibility was cracked in last year’s Super Bowl loss to the Eagles. His playoff legacy was proven beatable. Though each player’s postseason performance is yet to be realized this season, one thing has been made clear in the Chiefs’ last two games. For the time being, Mahomes has passed the belt. Josh Allen is QB1.
After all these years, there are no extenuating circumstances left to excuse the performance of this season. Mahomes’ outing against the Bills was one of the worst of his career, and while one game is excusable (Allen laid his own egg against the Dolphins), Week 11 showed us the trajectory of the two teams. Allen is so heavily depended upon by Buffalo, and he racked up six(!) touchdowns in the Bills’ impressive win over a tough Buccaneers team.
What has made Mahomes QB1 is ultimately his playoff performance. That is something that will only be recovered with a Super Bowl victory in Kansas City. Mahomes is 30 years old, and his story is far from over. There will be great plays, impressive statistics, and big wins, but even Chiefs Kingdom has to concur at this moment in time that Allen has eclipsed him as the best quarterback in the game today.
