Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes shoots down talk of his focus being pulled away from football

In August, no one would have been surprised to hear Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is tied for lead in a statistical category through the first seven weeks of the season.

But few if any would have expected Mahomes would be tied with Jets rookie Zach Wilson for most interceptions thrown.

This is the first time Mahomes has faced prolonged struggles since he became a NFL starter in 2019. Some fans have wondered if off-the-field activities, such as his work in commercials, are hurting him on the field.

During his weekly chat Monday with Carrington Harrison on KCSP (610 AM), Mahomes was asked if some of his focus has been taken off football. Mahomes said that wasn’t the case and the three Fs mean the most to him.

“No, not at all. I mean nothing will ever been as important as football is to me,” Mahomes said. “I mean it’s kind of family, faith and football. I know people talk about that, but that’s how I’ve always lived my life, and those things will always be the most important things to me.

“And I have other people that help me out and take things off my plate, and they know when it’s football season I don’t do anything but football. And so that’s how I roll. Football is what kind of got me here and I’m not gonna let that go by the side if that’s what it’s gonna be for the rest of my career.”

Mahomes left Sunday’s game against the Titans in the fourth quarter after a hit to the head, and he said Titans defensive lineman Jeffrey Simmons’ knee came up and hit him under his chin.

Despite leaving the game, Mahomes said he will play Monday against the Giants at Arrowhead Stadium. He passed the concussion protocol more than once.

“I will for sure (play), I’ve been through the protocol a couple times now and everything seems fine, so I haven’t had any symptoms or anything like that,” Mahomes said. “So I mean, I’m pretty good to go and just kind of ready to move on and try to find a way to get better this week.”

The Chiefs have a 3-4 record and are two games behind the Raiders in the AFC West. The New York Times gives the Chiefs a 34% chance of making the postseason.

Mahomes was asked if he thinks the Chiefs are still Super Bowl contenders.

“Yeah, I mean we got the players, it’s about executing,” Mahomes said. “When you’re at the end of the season and you’re in the playoffs, it’s not about how you played at the beginning of the season, it’s about how you’re playing right then. And so for us, it’s about getting better each and every week. We got the players to do it, we’ve got the coaches to do it.

“So now we have to find a way to do it and I’m excited. Like I said, I’m excited about the challenge. These guys will step up and start making plays and myself included, kill the turnovers and everything like that. And then at the end of the season, hopefully we’re playing in that game and winning it and we can talk about beginning of the season and kind of laugh about it.”

You can listen to the entire conversation here.