Patrick Mahomes Breaks Another NFL Record as Chiefs Thrash Bengals

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Patrick Mahomes during the second quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium on October 21 in Kansas City, Kansas. David Eulitt/Getty Images

Patrick Mahomes can't stop breaking records this season. The second-year quarterback threw four touchdown passes on Sunday, bringing his tally to 22 in the first eight game of his career and breaking the NFL record of 21 set by Kurt Warner in 1999.

Mahomes's display inspired the Chiefs' 45-10 thrashing of the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football, as Kansas City moved to 6-1 at the top of the AFC West.

The Chiefs are one of the only four teams in the NFL to have scored over 200 points in the first seven weeks of the campaign and currently average a staggering 37 points per game, the highest-scoring offense in the league.

.@patrickmahomes5's arm strength: Ridiculous. 💪

📺: @snfonnbc #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/OstWblqLXU

— NFL (@NFL) October 22, 2018

Mahomes has played a key role in Kansas City sweeping aside opponents, playing with the composure of a veteran despite having started just one game before the beginning of the season.

"You think you're going to have success, but I didn't expect this much,'' Mahomes told reporters after the game, as per ESPN. "But at the same time, I knew the weapons we had, and I knew if I just ran [the offense] and did what Coach [Andy] Reid wanted me to do that there was a chance we could be really, really good.''

On Sunday, the Texas native completed 71.8 percent of his passes for 358 yards, extending the longest streak of 300-yard passing games by a player aged 23 or younger.

The Chiefs quarterback has now passed the threshold in six consecutive games and, according to Elias Sports Bureau, no player in the age bracket has strung together more than four in the Super Bowl era.

The streak is already the longest in Chiefs' history, even considering players over the age of 23.

Patrick Mahomes is the first quarterback to throw for 300+ yards in six-straight games since Andrew Luck in 2014. It’s already the longest streak in Chiefs’ history.

— Matt McMullen (@KCChiefs_Matt) October 22, 2018

More incredibly, the former Texas Tech student has thrown three touchdowns in a half six times already this season, equalling the number of touchdowns the Bills have thrown in seven games so far.

While that says as much about Mahomes as it does about the Bills' struggling offense, it is nevertheless a scarcely believable figure.

The Buffalo Bills have thrown three (3) touchdowns this year. Patrick Mahomes has now thrown three (3) touchdowns in a half six (6) times this year.

— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) October 22, 2018

To put things into context, the 23-year-old has already thrown more touchdowns in seven games this year than Alex Smith, his predecessor, did in the whole regular season in three of his five campaigns as starting quarterback in Kansas.

With 102 passing touchdowns in 76 starts, Smith is fourth in the all-time list of touchdowns by a Chief quarterback, ahead of Elvis Grbac, who recorded 66 in 47 games. While at the start of the season it would have sounded absurd to even suggest Mahomes could be in the conversion, the former Texas Tech student could soon have Grbac firmly in his sight if he continues at this rate.

Mahomes is also rapidly closing in on the Chiefs' record for touchdowns in a single season. Len Dawson threw 30 touchdowns in 1964, while the new Kansas City start is currently on 22 with nine games left in the regular season.

The Chiefs quarterback has made a habit of making history this season, don't bet against him breaking some more records between now and the end of the campaign.

Uncommon Knowledge

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Dan Cancian is currently a reporter for Newsweek based in London, England. Prior to joining Newsweek in January 2018, he ... Read more

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