NFL Network analyst predicts Patrick Mahomes will exceed his TD pass output in 2019
Should Chiefs fans view quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ statistics in 2018 as a benchmark for future years? Or will fans be content with fewer than 50 touchdowns and 5,000 passing yards in a season?
I’m guessing as long as the Chiefs win, fans won’t care much if Mahomes hits those lofty numbers again.
But that doesn’t mean there won’t be expectations for Mahomes, the league’s Most Valuable Player, to be even better in 2019. For instance, former Lions/Seahawks/Vikings receiver Nate Burleson predicted Mahomes will throw for 55 touchdowns next season.
“The question is can he do it again? Can he repeat again? I’m going to go out on a limb and say not only will he repeat again, he will throw for 55 touchdowns this upcoming season,” Burleson said Monday on “Good Morning Football.”
That would tie Peyton Manning’s record, which was set in 2013 with the Broncos. And it would make Mahomes the first player in NFL history to throw for 50 or more touchdowns in two different seasons.
Here is Burleson’s bold prediction, which he made on the NFL Network:
It’s interesting to note that former ESPN NFL analyst John Clayton expects scoring to decrease next season, which could make it difficult for Mahomes to hit the magic number of 55.
Clayton made 10 bold predictions for the 2019 season for the Washington Post and he wrote: “NFL offenses had an amazing 2018. But by the end of the season, defenses began to catch up. Coordinators figured out schemes to slow many of the league’s highest-powered offenses, and players adjusted their techniques to better avoid helmet-hitting and roughing-the-passer penalties.
“The game still favors offense, and several of the league’s brightest minds will bring new wrinkles into next season. But 2019 won’t be quite as high-scoring as 2018 was.”
This story was originally published February 11, 2019 at 9:10 AM.
