It’s been a frustrating season for Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the offense as a whole.
The unit has been plagued by untimely penalties, struggling to line up correctly, poor route running and a league-high 39 dropped passes. Kansas City has lost four of its last six games and three straight at home.
Mahomes has been visibly frustrated on the field and the sidelines. Last week during a loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, Mahomes was shown on the sidelines trying to fire up his offensive line after a sloppy start. Some critics have said that Mahomes is throwing temper tantrums and can’t handle tough stretches of play in the NFL.
Retired tight end and media personality Rob Gronkowski doesn’t agree with those critics, as he had this to say on FanDuel TV’s “Up and Adams.”
“I wouldn’t really say it’s too much Mahomes yelling at his teammates,” Gronk said. “It’s kind of more him being motivational, trying to spark the offense to go out there and make some plays. That’s how I look at it. I’m seeing the fans are calling him a crybaby, that he’s a whiner right now because he’s opened the gate after he complained about the referees a couple of weeks ago. This situation right here: him yelling at his teammates, it’s because he’s being a leader. That’s what you want to see out of a quarterback. That’s what makes him a great quarterback. He’s one of the greatest quarterbacks in the league right now, possibly one of the greatest of all time – that will be determined over the next few years. But yes, you want to see that out of a quarterback: someone who cares and someone who is trying to motivate you and give the team a spark.”
Gronkowski is spot-on with his analysis and he has the background knowledge to prove it.
Mahomes has frequently shown poise as he’s overcome adversity throughout his career. Look no further than Kansas City’s two Super Bowl runs. During the 2019 postseason, the Chiefs fell behind by double digits in each game, only for Mahomes to bring them back to victory. Then in 2022, Mahomes gutted out a severe ankle injury which he aggravated in each postseason game but led them to Super Bowl glory yet again. Let’s not even recap the Super Bowl LV adversity that Gronkowski witnessed first-hand.
Gronkowski recognizes great fire and leadership from quarterbacks, having played 11 years with future Hall of Famer Tom Brady. There are countless instances of Brady yelling and trying to motivate his teammates through tough times over his storied career. Mahomes has had his teammate’s backs every step throughout this season, giving them votes of confidence that they will improve and saying that he needs to be better.
