Patrick Mahomes Will Break (Even More) Records in 2020

What does Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes need to do in his third year to set various Year Three quarterbacking records?

Patrick Mahomes has made a habit of breaking records in his first two seasons as the starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs. In 31 regular season starts, he holds the mark for highest quarterback rating (108.9), most passing yards (9412), and most passing touchdowns (76). He's also third in pass completions (724), fourth in completion percentage (65.88%), fifth in team wins (24), and seventh in fewest interceptions (18). 

His combined ranks in those seven statistical categories is 22. The next-best total among all 244 quarterbacks to have ever started 31 regular-season games in the NFL is Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson at 76. Mahomes is so well-rounded in his statistical dominance that the worst he ranks in any of the above categories is seventh, and no other quarterback's worst rank is better than 33. So not only is he the only quarterback in the top seven in all of those major passing categories, he's actually the only one in the top 32 in all categories. Pretty good start, I'd say.

We always like to fawn over Mahomes and his otherworldly accomplishments on the It's Always Sunny in Chiefs Kingdom podcast, so tune in or listen below, and find me or my co-host on Twitter for more podcast info.

Looking ahead to the 2020 season, Mahomes will hopefully have 16 regular-season games to add to his career totals. Here are the records for those same categories through 47 career regular-season starts:

The QB rating stat is in the bag. Not only does Mahomes have the highest career rating in NFL history, he's miles ahead of the pack. His next 13 consecutive pass attempts could be intercepted and he'd still be the career leader. He will have this record until someone comes along and takes it from him, but I don't anticipate him dropping it on his own.

Mahomes seems pretty likely to take down the yardage leader as well. He would need 4,100 yards to set the record, and after his blistering 2018 debut with 5,097 yards passing, he still managed 4,031 yards while missing games in 2019. Since these records are through 47 starts, he would have to throw for fewer than 256 yards per game not to reach that mark. His career average is 303.6, so consider that record on life support.

Mahomes would need 32 touchdown passes to set that bar, six more than Mahomes threw in 14 games last season, but 18 fewer than he threw in his MVP campaign in 2018. An average of 40.5 touchdowns per 16 games played would mean that he would have to have a significant dropoff in his touchdown rate to not pass Marino's mark of 108. This feels like a safe bet as well.

Matthew Stafford attempted an astronomical number of passes over his first three seasons (1,942, 39 more than second-place Drew Bledsoe and 41.32 attempts per game) and as such, holds the record for most completions as well, with 1,166. Mahomes would have to complete 442 passes in 2020 to tie that mark, which would be 59 more completions than his historic 2018 campaign. While that number seems impossible to hit, he will likely still complete around 350 passes, which will put him around third-place Carson Wentz's 1,070 total. And if he completes 28 passes per game to move past Stafford, would anyone be truly shocked?

Completion percentage is an attainable one for Mahomes. He is currently 724 out of 1,099, good for 65.88% completion, and he is chasing Warner's mark of 67.41. If he attempts the same number of passes as he did in 2018 (580) and completes 408 instead of the 383 he completed in 2018, that would put his career mark over Warner's through 47 games. Not a slam dunk by any means, but not unreachable given his career ascent. Consider this record as being up for grabs.

Wins are a funny statistic. Daryle Lamonica has the record through 47 starts at 40 wins, and that was after winning four spot-starts for the Buffalo Bills in four seasons, and then becoming the Raiders starter at age 26 and going 36-4 over the next three seasons. Mahomes, with a career record of 24-7, would need a perfect 16-0 mark to match Lamonica's 40 wins. Marino, Warner, and Tom Brady all rank second on the list with 35 wins through 47 starts, and while the Chiefs are talented enough to be dreaming about 16-0, a third-consecutive 12-4 campaign would be good enough to put Mahomes in second place by himself with 36 victories.

The interception total is the last number on the chart, and one that Mahomes is trending toward challenging. After 12 interceptions in his MVP season, he cut that number all the way down to five in his 14 games last year, including a very dubious call against the Texans for his first one of the year where he threw a jump ball on what should have been a free play, only for the referees to mysteriously pick up a flag despite an obvious hold and takedown of tight end Travis Kelce. A total of no more than seven interceptions next year certainly seems within reason, perhaps even likely, considering the improvements Mahomes continues to show with the rest of his game.

The NFL has quite simply never seen anyone perform like Mahomes. Whether it's a single play, a single game, a single season, or the sum of his career, he continues to set marks that the rest of the league will be aiming at for years to come.