Motivation has never been all that challenging to come by for Patrick Mahomes.
Admittedly though, the sting of a Super Bowl loss stokes the fire a little differently than most years.
Having fallen short of an unprecedented Super Bowl three-peat by way of a humbling 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Mahomes is more than ready to attack the offseason.
“I’m pretty motivated anyways, but I think when you get some of those tiring sets or tiring reps that you’re in the workout, you have something in the back of your mind that you’re kind of pushing towards,” Mahomes said Wednesday, via team transcript. “You have that bad taste in your mouth from the last time you stepped on the football field and you kind of have to hear about it all offseason, so it gives you the push that you want to go out there and be better and show what we’re really about.”
Mahomes has had to respond from a Super Bowl defeat before. In similarly lopsided fashion to their loss to the Eagles, the Chiefs were throttled, 31-9, by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV. Kansas City came up short of a return to the Super Bowl the following season, falling against the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game. The Chiefs have advanced to the big game every season since.
Beyond the added incentive of the loss, Mahomes has plenty more reason to believe the Chiefs can contend again.
Kansas City is replenishing its receiving corps, as Rashee Rice and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown are returning after each of them missed the majority of the 2024 season.
Rice was emerging as a bona fide No. 1 WR for Mahomes through four games, but a knee injury sidelined him for the remainder of the year. Brown was a ballyhooed free-agent addition, but a shoulder injury prevented him from debuting for the Chiefs until Week 16.
Brown was re-signed and Rice is on the comeback trail.
Amid their absences, 2024 first-round pick Xavier Worthy emerged over a season’s time as Mahomes top WR target.
Having all three back healthy and acclimated to the offense could well be a boon for the Chiefs.
“I mean, getting the guys back healthy as far as Rashee and having ‘Hollywood’ fully healthy and Xavier in Year Two -- I think the offense has the chance to be really, really good," Mahomes said. "It’s just about keeping building -- I’m excited to kind of have these guys again just with -- we’ve had a lot of turnover in the receiving room, and it seems like the core group will be back in its entirety. So, the goal is to try to build on it and get even better and try to get back to some of the explosive passing plays that we’ve done in years past.”
There’s nothing to be happy about after a Super Bowl loss.
However, there is the renewed focus and inspiration to return with a fervor in the hopes of getting back to the big game. And, sometimes there’s also a silver lining to be found in the darndest places.
Hence, Mahomes sporting a brand new and tight haircut, having done away with a now-trademark mohawk. The reason why? Well, it wasn’t exactly good luck anymore after the latest Super Bowl.
“I’ve wanted to do it for a while, but it was kind of one of those superstitions, I kept winning the Super Bowl, which is a good thing, but I didn’t want to cut the hair while I was doing it,” he said. “I told everybody during the season that win or lose, if we win three in a row or if we lose, I’m getting a haircut, like that’s enough. I’m very excited. I’ve looked at some videos from last year and I can’t believe all you guys let me keep that nappy hair for so long, like I look way better now with the short hair, so I’ll be keeping this going forward.”