By the Numbers: Key Stats from Patrick Mahomes 2024 Season
We are two months removed from Super Bowl LIX and most of the NFL world is looking forward to the upcoming season. The draft is just a few weeks away, front offices are busy signing free agents and extending their existing talent, and fan bases are substituting the results of the last season with hope for the future. However, you can’t look into the future and make any reasonable predictions without an understanding of what came before. The results, statistics, and narratives of this past season have already set the tone and expectations for the upcoming 2025 season. While the NFL has hundreds of players, each with their constant challenges and storylines, it feels appropriate to look back and examine the face of the league: Patrick Mahomes.
The most common narrative around Patrick Mahomes’ 2024 season was identical to that of the 2023 season; despite consistent wins and post-season success, the Chiefs quarterback was having his worst statistical season ever. The numbers don’t lie, as Mahomes recorded his lowest number of passing yards and touchdowns, as well as his second-lowest-ever QBR, since becoming Kansas City’s starting QB in 2018. Considering the recent, lofty heights of Mahomes’ second MVP season in 2022, it is impossible not to be disappointed with his pedestrian-looking 2024 season, his first ever as a starter without a Pro Bowl nod. However, even though it was undisputedly far from being Mahomes’ best season, is it fair to call his most recent season a “bad” one?
Patrick Mahomes doesn’t play football against himself from the past, he plays football against the 31 other NFL franchises and their respective quarterbacks. Putting Mahomes in a vacuum does him a disservice. As such, when confronting the narrative of disappointment around the Chiefs franchise QB, it is essential to compare him to his peers. Here are a few key stats from the 2024 season and how Mahomes measures up to his contemporaries.
Passing Yards: Patrick Mahomes threw for 3,928 yards in 2024, his first time as a starter finishing under the 4000-yard mark. While this number looks disappointing in a vacuum, it takes on a different light when compared to the other quarterbacks of the NFL. Mahomes’ 3,928 yards ranks him seventh across all NFL QBs in 2024, placing him just behind First Team All-Pro QB Lamar Jackson. It also places him seven spots and almost 200 yards ahead of NFL MVP Josh Allen, as well as over 300 yards in front of Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels. Statistically, Mahomes’ worst year for passing still places him in an elite, award-winning company.
Total Quarterback Rating: Patrick Mahomes posted a 67.6 total QBR in 2024, his second-lowest as a starter in the NFL. While the aforementioned award-winning QBs of the season each possess significantly stronger QBRs than Mahomes, the 67.6 rating still places Mahomes as the eighth highest among quarterbacks in 2024. Even a down year as an overall QB still holds Mahomes as a top-10 player at the position. While we’re moving away from analyzing Mahomes against his past self, it is both curious and worth mentioning that he posted a nearly identical QBR of 67.7 in 2021, just before his monster MVP-winning 2022 season.
Sacks: Patrick Mahomes was sacked 36 times in 2024, by far the highest amount in a single season in his career. With the questionable left tackle play that plagued the Chiefs all season leading to the defense getting home to Mahomes more than they ever had before, it is no wonder that Mahomes was unable to produce at the massively high level that is expected of him. If the Chiefs want to recreate an environment where Mahomes has the time and space in the pocket he needs, rebuilding the trenches in the draft and free agency is a must. As an aside, whenever Mahomes gets sacked exactly 26 times in a season, he wins MVP. Go figure.
Comebacks and Game-Winning Drives: Patrick Mahomes has become infamous for his ability to come back from multi-score deficits and still pull out a win, with 2024 proving that his clutch gene is as intact as ever. Mahomes led five comeback drives, defined as successful scoring drives when down by one score in the fourth quarter, leading to an eventual win, as well as seven game-winning drives, defined as successful scoring drives in the fourth quarter or overtime that put the team ahead for the last time. These are the only two passing categories that Mahomes led in 2024, but they are crucially important categories for a QB nonetheless, as they show the success a quarterback has when both the ball and all the responsibility are placed in their hands in the final minutes of the game. When it comes crunch time, the stats still show that nobody closes quite like Patrick Mahomes, a key component of the Chiefs posting their best-ever regular season record of 15-2 in 2024. Oh, and as another aside, the king of the game-winning drive, Tom Brady, never posted as many as seven in a season.
