During the 2018 NFL season, Kansas City Chiefs MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes lit the football world on fire. From no-look passes to left-handed throws he was simply amazing. It is yet to be quantified how much better the offense was last year, as Kansas City jumped from Alex Smith to Mahomes, or just how much better Mahomes was. Let’s take a look at some stats to find out.

Alex Smith is a known commodity, but his juxtaposition to Mahomes is staggering. Smith may have a limited ceiling, but he’s been a productive NFL passer. Credit must be given where it is due, and Smith brought the Chiefs out of football purgatory and brought them back to relevance in the AFC West. However, statistically speaking, Mahomes was simply more impressive.

Overall Team Offense

To start, let’s look at some overall team numbers on offense. Kansas City finished first in the AFC West in both seasons. In 2017 they finished with a 10-6 record and in 2018 going 12-4 which was good enough for a two-game improvement.

In 2017 they had 415 points for (25.9 points per game average) that ranked them sixth out of the 32 NFL teams. For the 2018 season, the Kansas City Chiefs had an incredible 565 points for and 35.3 points per game placing them third-most all-time for a single season. That performance moved them up five spots from the previous year and ranked them, unequivocally, first in all of football.

Under the MVP QB, Kansas City scored 150 more points, which would average out to 9.4 points per game and just over 21 more touchdowns throughout the season. Keep in mind that the Chiefs were without Pro Bowl running back Kareem Hunt for the last five games of the season as well.

A Player for Player Comparison

In Smith’s last year with the Chiefs, he completed 341 of 505 passes, enough for a 67.5% completion percentage. He had 26 touchdowns (5.1 TD%) to only five interceptions (1.0 INT%). Smith totaled 4,042 passing yards while being sacked 35 times in arguably his best year.

In comparison, Mahomes completed 383 out of 580 passes (66%) and threw for 5,097 yards with 50 touchdowns (8.6%) making him only the second QB to ever hit those two marks in the same year. He had 12 interceptions (2.1%) and was sacked only 26 times. Mainly because of plays like this:

It’s not really fair to compare the two individuals as it is a team game. However, when you are playing the most critical position on the field, it’s a comparison that needs to be made to bring all other stats into context.

Common Position Players

Those stats alone should be enough proof that Mahomes is the better QB, but since teams are always changing, let’s compare the numbers of players who played with both signal callers.

Smith under center:

Tyreek Hill: 105 targets – 75 receptions – 1,183 yards – 7 TD

Travis Kelce: 122 targets – 83 receptions – 1,038 yards – 8 TD

Demarcus Robinson: 39 targets – 21 receptions – 212 yards – 0 TD

Demetrius Harris: 35 targets – 18 receptions – 224 yards – 1 TD

Chris Conley: 16 targets – 11 receptions – 175 yards – 0 TD

Kareem Hunt: 63 targets – 53 receptions – 455 yards – 3 TD

Mahomes under center:

Tyreek Hill: 137 targets – 87 receptions – 1,479 yards – 12 TD

Travis Kelce: 150 targets – 103 receptions – 1,336 yards – 10 TD

Demarcus Robinson: 33 targets – 22 receptions – 288 yards – 4 TD

Demetrius Harris: 25 Targets – 12 receptions – 164 yards – 3 TD

Chris Conley: 52 targets – 32 receptions – 334 yards – 5 TD

Kareem Hunt: 35 targets – 26 receptions – 378 yards – 7 TD*

*only played eleven games before the team let him go.

As we can clearly see, Mahomes made everyone around him better. Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, and Kareem Hunt all watched their numbers improve last year, even if they were already impressive. What stands out most is the level of production he was able to get from Demarcus Robinson, Demetrius Harris, and Chris Conley, who were mostly non-factors with Smith at QB.

With all the drama surrounding the Kansas City Chiefs and the status of Hill in question, many think the offense will suffer. But after looking at these numbers, it’s safe to assume they will be just fine with their MVP QB taking the lead.

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