Is Patrick Mahomes losing his touch? If you ask his biggest critic and Fox Sports Radio’s The Odd Couple‘s Rob Parker, he’ll give you a hundred reasons why. NFL royalty Tom Hardy will counter with exactly 100 reasons. And that’s exactly what happened this past week. For starters…

Parker expressed his concerns about the Chiefs’ unbeaten record on November 8. Currently, the Chiefs are riding on a blistering 8-0 record, which many are comparing to the New England Patriots’ 2007 run where they completed the season without a single loss (16-0-0). However, as per Parker, “They have the 8-0 record, but it hasn’t been that impressive…If I remember correctly, the Patriots, they were blowing people away…I think all of the Chiefs wins this year have been less by seven and under something six…or something like that. Like really, really, all close games…that’s what the difference is so they were riding a wave…like there were a lot of games where he [Patrick Mahomes] had two picks and no touchdowns or one touchdown and two picks and they needed something to happen for them to win and I think that’s why people aren’t there yet.”

Although it is brilliant, they have managed to see through all of their opponents till now. Parker said it could crumble even if there is a minor slip-up, “Football is not a series, so you could lose one game and all of it, anybody can.” He even predicted that the Chiefs could lose eventually, sooner or later: “They can be beaten, they haven’t been yet, but they can surely be beaten.”

However, amid speculations of the Chiefs’ downfall in the upcoming weeks, Brady has kept them at the top of his list. Releasing his power rankings for the week, Brady has put the Chiefs ahead of everyone else, “If you’re undefeated, you better believe you’re going to stay at the top of my power rankings. At number one of my power rankings: The Kansas City Chiefs. They continue to find ways to win close games. They’ve got that Championship DNA.”

This comes amid the QB having the worst season of his career. The Chiefs’ offense are yet to score 30+points in a game. Entering Week 9, Mahomes had thrown picks on 4% of his passes this season, and has continued to struggle as a downfield passer. On top of that, entering Week 7, the 29-year-old’s passer rating was 82.5—20 points below his career average of 102.5.

Yet, the veteran was hopeful, saying, “Patrick Mahomes, three touchdowns, didn’t turn the ball over and they had a new addition, DeAndre Hopkins. It’s already looking like a great fitness offense. He had two touchdowns. Looking all the way back to last year, that’s 14 straight wins for the Chiefs.”

“Sean Payton, you got a tough challenge against them this Sunday, when it’s the Broncos-Chiefs,” he concluded. But are the Chiefs ready to take on the challenge of Payton’s Broncos? Well, the Broncos will surely be fired up after their humiliating defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens last week (41-10).

Looking at the Broncos HC’s confidence, it sure seems like the team has quite some tricks up their sleeves. “Let’s start with this; they’re playing really good defense. Now, Andy has done this a long time. So he knows how to win….It’s just that inner belief of, ‘Whatever we have to do.’ That’s what we’re pushing for, so we’ll be ready,” the HC said in a media address on Friday.

However, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is full of praises for the upcoming opponent: “They’ve got good players. And they’re like I said, they’re playing well, they’re executing well in all three phases.” Not taking the Broncos lightly, the Chiefs would want to maintain their stronghold in the AFC West this season. Although the Chiefs hold a 12-1 record against the Broncos with Mahomes at center, their only loss came last season in Denver when Mahomes was restricted to zero touchdowns, thereby allowing the Broncos to cause an upset with Russell Wilson in the middle.

Can Mahomes break free from the talks of his dipping form, especially after Parker opined the QB is “not a top 5 quarterback”. In a September 30 episode, he had further elaborated, “I’m talking about just numbers. People get caught up on this – we’re not talking about a lifetime achievement, I just said he’s going to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He’s won three Super Bowls and two MVPs, he’s going to get in. But we’re just talking about how he’s playing right now and the numbers. THEY’RE NOT GOOD.”

Having said that, as the Chiefs look to escape an upset at home, Brady was fortunate to evade punishment himself after controversial comments last week.

Tom Brady escapes NFL’s punishment by a whisker

Since hanging up his cleats in 2022, Tom Brady is not only a Fox Sports broadcaster. But now he is also a part owner of NFL franchise Las Vegas Raiders (5%). While navigating through those newfound powers, there are certain things Brady must adhere to. And one of those rules is not criticising league officials as an analyst for Fox Sports Network. However, while commenting on the Packers vs Lions game on Sunday, Brady might have forgotten those rules.

Seeing Lions safety Brian Branch getting ejected off the field didn’t go down well for the seven-time Super Bowl Champion. “I don’t love that call at all. Obviously, it’s a penalty, but to me, that has to be serious intent in a game like this.” So what went down that got Brady criticising the decision? Well, after hitting the Packers receiver Bo Melton on the head. Branch was indeed penalised for unnecessary roughness. However, the offices above decided to review the incident once more. And they concluded that Branch must be ejected, which got the Lions’ safety absolutely fuming as he left the gridiron.

As for Brady, he ended up escaping punishment because “The concern would be if Tom was egregiously critical of officiating or called into question the integrity of an official or the crew. That did not occur this instance,” as per NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy. While Brady could count himself lucky not to find himself punished, he would surely be a little careful next time. Otherwise, a five-figure fine could be waiting for him, as the NFL knows how to handle such situations.