Patrick Mahomes makes it clear he doesn’t have a preference regarding an aspect of the offense that could change everything
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs need to switch things up a bit.
Despite having a much better roster on paper on the offensive side of the ball, and the stats saying this is a good offense, the Kansas City Chiefs are not a good offense. The Denver Broncos do have a good defense, one of the best, but you cannot score just 19 points against them with as many opportunities as they had.
So maybe it’s time the Chiefs switch some things up on offense. No, not a personnel or coaching change. The Chiefs need to make a few changes schematically. The only thing is, quarterback Patrick Mahomes doesn’t have a preference on one aspect of the offense that could change everything.
“Nah, my preference is to win, so whatever way that happens, I’m good with,” Mahomes told reporters when asked if he has a preference on being under center or playing from the shotgun position pre-snap.
This matters, and I’ll tell you exactly why.
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Mahomes and the Chiefs need to go under center more on offense
The Chiefs are known as the team that seldom goes under center, or starts its plays with Mahomes receiving the ball directly from the center, rather than a hike back to Mahomes through the air. Going under center every now and then helps keep the defense on its toes. When you are constantly running plays from the shotgun, it’s a lot easier for the defense to game-plan and guess whether you’re about to run or pass.
Not to mention, from under center, it’s a heck of a lot easier to get some play action and downhill runs going your way. The argument for shotgun would be that bad offensive lines that can’t block longer developing plays need shotgun.
Patrick Mahomes’ stats in shotgun vs. under center in 2025 (with penalty plays, via Sports Info Solutions)
Shotgun stats:
- 388 dropbacks
- 218/336
- 2,477 yards
- 16 TD 6 INT
- 19 sacks
- 34.3% pressure rate
- 0.15 EPA/dropback
Non-shotgun stats:
- 15/25
- 148 yards
- 2 TD 0 INT
- 1 sack
- 37.9% pressure rate
- 0.14 EPA/dropback
The other reason is that a shotgun formation allows the quarterback and running back to see how plays are unfolding while the QB’s back isn’t turned. So, I’m not saying the Chiefs need to stop running plays from the shotgun; I’m saying they need to run more plays from under center.
Kansas City has a shotgun-to-under-center play call ratio of about 4-1 when you take out plays that were penalties. That’s far too lopsided, one of the most lopsided teams in the league. Running some plays from under center would give defenses a new wrinkle to prepare for more often than they already do. It seems unlikely, but maybe they do more against the Indianapolis Colts.
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