Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs‘ golden boy, finds himself in unfamiliar territory. The quarterback who’s made a career of threading needles on the field now finds himself threading the needle between superstar status and statistical reality. This time the harsh reality was reiterated by NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks, who dropped a bombshell that’s reverberating through the football world.

“I feel like we’re doing a lot of gymnastics to protect number 15’s feelings,” Brooks said on SPEAK today, analyzing Mahomes’ No. 4 ranking on the NFL Top 100 list. “It’s okay if you’re not number one all the time.” This isn’t just another hot take. Brooks backed up his stance with solid facts. “He didn’t play like the best player in football the entire season. At one point Pat Mahomes had 50 touchdowns and won an MVP. He had 27 touchdown passes last year,” he pointed out.

It’s a stark reminder that even the mightiest can have an off year. Mahomes, who led the Kansas City Chiefs to their third Super Bowl win in five years, threw for 4,183 yards and 27 touchdowns in the 2023 regular season. These numbers, while impressive, were actually the second-lowest of his career as a starter. He also tossed a career-high 14 interceptions.

LeSean McCoy, former Chiefs running back, also added fuel to the fire. “If you had to ask me who was the best player in this league, it’s Patrick Mahomes. We all know that,” McCoy said. “But this list is more of okay, what happened last year, right?” For McCoy, Tyreek Hill just suited the No.1 berth, especially with his nearly 2000 yards in receiving. The discussion inclined toward the notion that Mahomes during the reason is different from the Mahomes during the playoffs.

And that could have been the deciding factor to book the No.1 spot for ‘the Cheetah.’ This debate has set social media on a roar. FOX Sports’ Nick Wright stated that Mahomes should have easily claimed the top spot. Jason McIntyre didn’t hold back his words and suggested fans should “officially stop paying attention to this” annual list. But, those who have supported the ranking, have gravitated toward the 2023 regular season as the root cause behind the list.

Does Mahomes’ last season justify a lower ranking?

The debate surrounding Mahomes’ NFL top 100 ranking brings up a crucial question: How much importance should we give to regular season stats versus playoff performance?

In 18 playoff starts, Mahomes has thrown for 5,135 yards, 41 touchdowns, and only 8 interceptions. That’s a whopping 105.8 passer rating. Talk about turning it on when it counts.

According to Chiefs coach Andy Reid, this was a roller-coaster season. “The end result was awesome, but I think a lot of us still have a weird feeling in our mouth,” Reid told ESPN. “It wasn’t fun every single week having to try to just continue to get better and better and the results not paying off the way you wanted to.”

Mahomes himself seems untroubled by the rating. “Yo why am i so happy in this pic,” he tweeted while sharing an image of himself grinning with the Lombardi Trophy His wife Brittany’s 2020 tweet when Mahomes was last ranked 4th by his peers resurfaces in this context: “No, let them keeping ranking him 4th in the league…we love it.” It seems the Mahomes household thrives on underdog energy.

While preparing for another shot at the title, the Chiefs ‘snub’ might be just what Mahomes needs to ignite him again; after all, he has already played full seasons worth of playoff games (18) that would make regular season MVPs blush with their stats. In the grand scheme of things, this debate over Mahomes’ ranking is just another chapter in the NFL’s never-ending storybook.

However, as one saying goes ‘”Heavy is the head that wears the crown.” But for Mahomes that burden may just be enough to propel his team once more towards another championship run. Do you agree with this notion? Share your thoughts below.