Patrick Mahomes Unleashed: Why His Return to MVP Form Could Change the NFL Forever

It’s been a minute since Patrick Mahomes stood without question as the NFL’s top dog. Sure, he kept lifting trophies and clinching AFC titles, but his last MVP award dates back to 2022 — feels like ages ago given the way he’s dominated the gridiron throughout his career. Honestly, it wasn’t a stretch that Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen claimed the MVP spotlight in the seasons that followed. Mahomes remained solid, yet the Kansas City Chiefs around him shifted gears, evolving into a well-rounded squad boasting a stout defense. They proved capable of championship-level play without relying solely on Mahomes’ superhero moments.

But now? The caped crusader is making a triumphant return. After a standout victory over the Detroit Lions, Mahomes surged back to favorite status on the NFL MVP odds boards, and frankly, it’s about time. His stats have climbed closer to those video-game peaks we once marveled at, signaling that he’s operating on an elevated plane once again. For the Chiefs, this resurgence spells a season ripe with wins looming on the horizon—a prospect that’s anything but welcome news for fans rooting against another Super Bowl showdown featuring Kansas City.

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It has been a while since Patrick Mahomes was the undisputed best player in the NFL.

He was still winning Super Bowls and AFC championships, but his last MVP came in 2022. That’s a long time, considering Mahomes’ dominance throughout his career. And it’s hard to argue that he deserved MVP over Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen either of the past two seasons. Mahomes was still good, but the Kansas City Chiefs‘ support around him withered away and the team morphed into a balanced team with a good defense. They could play at a championship level without Mahomes being a superhero.

The superhero version is back.

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Mahomes has taken over as the NFL MVP favorite at BetMGM after the Chiefs’ impressive win Sunday night over the Detroit Lions. It’s entirely justified. His numbers have spiked back up, maybe not to his video-game-level peak but close. Anyone watching the Chiefs can see Mahomes is playing at a different level than the past two seasons, and he certainly wasn’t bad before.

Mahomes is having a vintage season, and the wins are going to start coming for the Chiefs. This is all bad news for the large segment of NFL fans who do not want to see the Chiefs back in another Super Bowl.

Patrick Mahomes is showing familiar form

It’s six games into the season, and Mahomes still leads the Chiefs in rushing. He has 222 yards. He also has four rushing touchdowns, doubling his total from the past two seasons combined.

When Xavier Worthy got injured and Rashee Rice was serving a six-game suspension, Mahomes was doing whatever he had to for the offense. Sometimes that meant running like he never has before. His career high in rushing yards for a season is 389. He’s on pace this season for 629.

That’s just a secondary part of his game, though he is adding value to the Chiefs offense with his scrambles. Mahomes is showing again that he’s one of the NFL’s elite passers, with his production rebounding closer to his MVP levels.

Mahomes’ passing stats were totally fine in 2023 and 2024. They just were well short of the bar he had set for himself. He had 8,111 yards, 53 touchdowns and 25 interceptions for a 93 passer rating over the past two seasons. That was nowhere near his career norms:

2018-22: 4,791.4 yards, 38.4 TD, 9.6 INT, 106 passer rating

2023-24: 4,055.5 yards, 26.5 TD, 12.5 INT, 93 rating

2025 pace: 4,289 yards, 31.2 TD, 5.7 INT, 99 rating

His 2025 averages should get better. Mahomes didn’t have much to work with early in the season without Worthy and Rice. He made Tyquan Thornton a viable target and coaxed great production from Hollywood Brown. Worthy has been back and Rice, the Chiefs’ best receiver, returns Sunday. The Chiefs offense is going to get a lot better.

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And the stats aren’t the whole story anyway. Mahomes has looked good, considering that he was carrying the entire offense for a few weeks. On Sunday night, Mahomes was great against the Detroit Lions. He was 22-of-30 for 257 yards and three touchdowns, and the Chiefs knocked off a Lions team that was 4-1.

And now Mahomes gets some more help.

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Chiefs aren’t far behind in AFC

The Chiefs’ 2-3 start wasn’t ideal, but they picked the right season to have a slow start.

The NFL landscape isn’t scary. There isn’t a clear favorite to win the Super Bowl. It’s hard to even have a group of contenders you’d trust six weeks into the season.

The Buffalo Bills looked like they might open a big lead in the AFC, but they’ve lost two in a row and haven’t looked great on both sides of the ball during their slump. The Los Angeles Chargers opened up a big lead on the Chiefs in the AFC West to start the season but injuries have brought them back to the pack. The Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals are nowhere to be found. The only 5-1 team is the Indianapolis Colts, and we’ll need to see if they can maintain that pace. There’s a lot of time for the Chiefs to catch them.

The Chiefs are 3-3, but that seems to be a factor of some early-season injuries and a complete turnaround in luck in close games. The Chiefs didn’t lose a one-score game last season. They haven’t won a one-score game this season, going 0-3. Just like they weren’t as good as their 15-2 record last season, they’re not as bad as their 3-3 record this season.

That should change. The luck in close games will turn. Rice’s return will change the offense for the better. And Mahomes is looking like he might reclaim his MVP award that he loaned out the past couple of seasons. The Chiefs are coming, even if plenty of people won’t like it.