Watching Patrick Mahomes run for his life isn't new. We’ve seen him do the frantic scramble, the sidearm flick, and the "how did he get away with that" shovel pass a thousand times. But lately, things have shifted. The magic hasn't always been enough to beat the pass rush.
Patrick Mahomes getting sacked has become a weirdly common sight in Kansas City.
For years, the narrative was that Mahomes was "un-sackable." He had this sixth sense for pressure. He'd feel a defensive end closing in on his blind side and just... vanish. Then he’d reappear twenty yards downfield, pointing at a wide-open Travis Kelce.
Statistics used to back this up. In 2019 and 2020, Mahomes was taking barely one sack per game. He was among the league leaders in pressure-to-sack ratio, meaning even when the offensive line failed, he usually didn't.
But 2024 and 2025 changed that math.
Why the Sacks Are Piling Up Now
The 2024 season was a wake-up call. Mahomes was sacked a career-high 36 times in the regular season. If you count the playoffs and the Chiefs' third straight Super Bowl run, that number gets even uglier. In Super Bowl LIX against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Birds got to him six times.
Six.
It wasn't just one guy blowing a block. It was a systematic collapse against a fierce interior rush. Jalen Carter and Milton Williams were living in the backfield. When Mahomes is forced to move vertically—stepping up into a collapsing pocket rather than escaping out the back—the results have been messy.
By the end of the 2025 campaign, before a late-season ACL injury ended his year against the Chargers, Mahomes had already been brought down 34 times in just 14 games. That’s a pace that would have obliterated his previous career high.
The Offensive Line Factor
We have to talk about the tackles. Left tackle has been a revolving door since Eric Fisher left years ago. While the Chiefs tried to patch it with veteran stopgaps and high-upside draft picks like Josh Simmons, the consistency isn't there.
Simmons actually played well as a rookie in 2025, allowing only two sacks on 367 pass-blocking snaps. But he missed nine games. When the depth chart gets tested, Mahomes pays the price in bruises.
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The interior is usually solid with Trey Smith and Joe Thuney, but even they struggled against the elite "three-tech" defensive tackles. Teams have realized that if you can't chase Mahomes down on the perimeter, you just push the pocket directly into his lap.
The Scramble Tax
Here is something kind of interesting: Mahomes is actually responsible for a lot of his own hits.
According to data from PFF and FTN Fantasy, Mahomes often ranks near the top of the league in "failed scrambles." This happens when a quarterback breaks the pocket to avoid a sack but ends up getting tackled for a loss anyway or throwing it away after five seconds of running.
In the first seven weeks of 2025, he had 12 of these.
When you play "hero ball," you're going to get caught. Honestly, his average time to throw has hovered around 2.93 seconds. That’s a long time to ask five guys to hold off 270-pound athletes who run like deer.
- 2018: 26 sacks
- 2020: 22 sacks
- 2023: 27 sacks
- 2024: 36 sacks (Career High)
- 2025: 34 sacks (In 14 games)
The trend line is pointing the wrong way.
What Happens When He Goes Down?
The impact of Patrick Mahomes getting sacked isn't just about lost yardage. It kills the rhythm. The Chiefs' offense relies on "on-schedule" passing. When they face 2nd-and-18 because of a 9-yard sack, the playbook shrinks.
We saw this clearly in late 2025. In a Week 15 loss to the Chargers—the game where Mahomes eventually got hurt—he was sacked 5 times for a loss of 21 yards. The offense managed only 13 points.
When Mahomes is under constant duress, his passer rating drops significantly. In 2025, his rating fell to a career-low 89.6. For anyone else, that's decent. For Mahomes? It’s a crisis.
Without the threat of a deep ball—partly because his receivers weren't winning and partly because he didn't have time for the routes to develop—defenses just pinned their ears back.
The Survival Strategy for 2026
If the Chiefs want to protect their $450 million investment, the blueprint has to change.
- Invest in the Blindside: Relying on a rookie (Simmons) to stay healthy for 17 games is a gamble that didn't pay off in 2025. They need a veteran swing tackle who isn't a liability.
- The Quick Game: Andy Reid needs to lean back into the West Coast roots. Getting the ball out in under 2.5 seconds isn't as sexy as a 50-yard bomb, but it keeps Mahomes upright.
- Drafting for the Interior: With Chris Jones and Travis Kelce getting older, the window is shifting. The defense can't always bail out an offense that's constantly behind the chains.
Watching Mahomes get sacked feels wrong. It’s like seeing a glitch in the Matrix. But unless the Chiefs address the physical toll he's taking, those glitches are going to become the new reality.
What you should do next: Keep an eye on the Chiefs' transactions during the 2026 offseason, specifically looking for any additions to the offensive tackle depth. Also, track Mahomes' recovery from his ACL injury; his mobility is his best defense against sacks, and any lingering stiffness could make him a sitting duck in the pocket next season.