Patrick Mahomes remains the most feared quarterback in the National Football League by virtue of his relationship with Travis Kelce, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky has claimed. 

The Kansas City Chiefs have been more or less under the radar for a lot of this season so far, with a lot of attention going to the likes of the Buffalo Bills, who many people had as their Super Bowl favourites in the AFC, as well as the long undefeated Philadelphia Eagles over in the NFC as they established themselves as the top teams in the league early on.

The Chiefs’ case wasn’t helped by their early loss to the struggling Indianapolis Colts in Week 3 and then their loss to the Bills in Week 6, which many people believed gave them the balance of power at the top of the conference. Now though, after some stumbles from those above them, they find themselves back as the #1 seed in the AFC as things stand, and on course to host their 5th straight Conference Championship game.

And a large part of that is down to Patrick Mahomes who, whilst talk abounds about the likes of Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen to be the league’s MVP at the end of the year, has been making his own case for the top honour in his own way.

Patrick Mahomes keeps piling up the yards

Mahomes is currently leading the league in passing yards with 3,265, touchdowns with 28 and is also in the top ten when it comes to quarterback rating, pass completion percentage and game-winning drives. All of these combined make you think that he’s more than likely emerged as the front-runner when it comes to league MVP this year.

And a lot of that is down to the efforts of tight end Travis Kelce. The 33-year-old leads all tight ends in both receptions and yards with 69 and 855 respectively, and leads all positions when it comes to receiving touchdowns with 11 so far this season.

It’s that connection that Orlovsky believes makes Mahomes the best quarterback in the league, as he knows he has someone reliable to throw the ball to in big situations. He gave his views on ESPN’s Get Up (starting at 1:34):

It’s comfort, that’s why Patrick Mahomes remains The Grim Reaper. That’s what he is. If you looked at that game last night and just went to the second half, and you’re like ‘where do quarterbacks need to be their best?, Patrick on 3rd down last night was absolutely spectacular in the second half when it mattered the most, and a lot of times it was going to Travis Kelce. 

If that duo can stay healthy and as in sync as they have been all season, you really do get the sense that nobody is going to be able to stop them, especially if they force teams to pay more attention to Kelce, that is just going to allow some of the Chiefs’ other weapons to get chances too.