The Chiefs’ victory over the Washington Commanders on Monday marked the 120th career start for Patrick Mahomes, split evenly between home and road games.
The quarterback’s three touchdown passes increased his total to 124 and improved his career passer rating in home games to 99.8. For 60 games, that’s terrific stuff.
But in road games, Mahomes has been — wait for it — even better.
He’s passed for 138 touchdowns away from GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, and he has been more efficient on the road, too, with a passer rating of 104.8 in away games.
At home, Mahomes owns an average of 279.9 passing yards per game. On the road, it’s 294.3 yards.
The Chiefs’ records in those games is nearly even: 48-12 at home, 46-14 in away games. Mahomes and the Chiefs take their show on the road Sunday at Buffalo in a matchup of perennial AFC contenders.
The Chiefs have been the NFL’s top team during the Mahomes era, with the most regular-season and playoff victories and most division, conference and NFL championships. So it stands to reason the away-from-Arrowhead numbers would stand out.
Mahomes’ and the Chiefs’ records and numbers, as referenced above, include games away from Arrowhead and true road games. In Mahomes’ time, the Chiefs have played “home” game in Frankfurt, Germany and “away” games in Mexico City and — to begin the 2025 season — Sao Paulo, Brazil.
But the larger point remains: Going on the road not only hasn’t fazed Mahomes during his career, he seems to relish the opportunity to play the role of spoiler or villain
“You go on these trips and even more than the games, just being on the plane, in the hotel, you kind of built a culture and a team,” he said. “And so it’s cool whenever you go on the field and everybody’s against you, and you know you have your brothers behind you.
“It takes everybody. I think it’s special that we’ve been able to do that, play these road games and win these games because this team comes together and plays its best football.”
Mahomes has won twice in three games at Highmark Stadium in Buffalo. In the teams’ 2020 meeting, at an empty stadium because of COVID-19, the Chiefs prevailed in the first meeting between Mahomes and Bills counterpart Josh Allen.
The next game in Buffalo came in the 2023 playoffs, and it was won by the Chiefs. Last season, the Bills got a late 26-yard touchdown run from Allen on a fourth-and-2 to clinch a victory.
After a bye week, the Chiefs’ schedule continues with a game in Denver against the Broncos, who have defeated the Chiefs in Kansas City’s two most recent trips to the Mile High City. Mahomes didn’t play in last year’s game there, however, as KC coach Andy Reid rested many starters with the postseason looming.
This season, the Chiefs are 1-2 as the road team, having lost to the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil and the Jacksonville Jaguars and beaten the New York Giants. They’ve never finished worse than 5-3 in road games in a season with Mahomes as their starting quarterback.
Mahomes easily owns the best career NFL winning percentage for a QB in road games, ever, at .767. Among quarterbacks with at least 60 road starts, here’s the rest of the top four: Daryle Lamonica, .707; Joe Montana, .684; and Tom Brady .673.
And Mahomes didn’t ease into this trend. He showed a knack for road success from the outset, when he got his first pro start at the end of the 2017 season and led the Chiefs to a victory in Denver.
When Mahomes became KC’s full-time starter in 2018, the Chiefs opened with games at the Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers. Mahomes passed for a total of 10 touchdowns with no interceptions in those games.
He planted the flag then, and winning on the road ever since has helped keep the Chiefs atop the NFL throughout his career.