The Kansas City Chiefs have their fair share of doubters voicing their opinions on what the 2025 season will look like, and don't you worry, Patrick Mahomes hears it all.
Coming off a poor Super Bowl loss that ended the historic three-peat chance, the Chiefs, for some, are the walking wounded with the franchise that has been the apex predator of the NFL for eight years now suddenly vulnerable.
But while many talk and talk about what the Chiefs will or won't do this upcoming season, Mahomes isn't interested in fueling those narratives by barking back; he wants his football to do the talking.
"I'm honestly just ready to play football again," Mahomes said in an interview on the Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams. "Whenever you lose, you kind of have this taste in your mouth that you want to go out there and revenge that or whatever you want to say.”
And …then he sort of clapped back at the naysayers.
“At the same time,” he added, “I feel like I've had to sit back and just listen to people talk and talk and I'm like, 'let's just play football and just handle it all out there.' I don't really want to talk about it. I just want to go out and show who we are as the Kansas City Chiefs."
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15)
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15)
Denny Medley-Imagn Images
There has been mention that perhaps the mental weight of going for the three-peat took some of the joy out of playing football last season, and Mahomes stated that he wants to get back to football being fun.
It's always fun when you're winning, and the Chiefs only lost three times all season, one of which was the Super Bowl. However, the burden of expectation was weighing heavily on the locker room - it isn't now.
With Rashee Rice and Marquise Brown hopefully back fully healthy, along with the expected improvement of Xavier Worthy and Travis Kelce, coupled with a revamped run game and "better" offensive line, the Chiefs are ready to prove the doubters wrong.
But on the field, not in a verbal shouting match in the offseason.