National Football League

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are in pursuit of perfection

Updated Jun. 1, 2021 12:26 p.m. ET

The pursuit of greatness — and perfection — is one that seemingly never stops for professional athletes.

Not even when the athlete is somebody as accomplished as Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

In three years as the starting quarterback for the Chiefs, Mahomes has led the team at least as far as the AFC Championship Game each season. The Chiefs played in the past two Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl LIV.

Mahomes has also rewritten NFL record books, having already won regular-season and Super Bowl MVP awards.

Yet he still seems to believe that he and the Chiefs can accomplish more and perhaps even set an unprecedented standard of excellence.

"The only record I have my eyes set on breaking this year, which would be new this year, is going 20-0," he said recently.

With the NFL expanding its regular season to 17 games, there is an opportunity for the Chiefs to win not only 17 games in the regular season but also three more in the postseason on their way to a 20-0 season.

The only team in NFL history to complete a season without a loss was the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who went 14-0 in the regular season and won three playoff games to finish 17-0.

The 2007 New England Patriots came close, going 18-0 through the regular season and AFC playoffs before they fell to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

While Mahomes' goal might seem lofty but worthwhile, Marcellus Wiley doesn't view it as a positive thing.

"It reeks of arrogance," he said on "Speak For Yourself." "And here's the arrogance: It makes you stop and skip square one."

Despite the temptation to overlook opponents, Mahomes has good reason to believe that his goal is within reach.

Since becoming the starting quarterback for the Chiefs in 2018, he has guided the franchise to a 12-4 regular season twice and a 14-2 regular season in 2020, so 20-0 isn't entirely implausible.

But with the goal comes added pressure that might not be necessary, according to Rob Ninkovich on ESPN's "Get Up."

"It can really put a certain stress on you that, really, you don't need it," Ninkovich said. "I get it, I love the competitiveness of Patrick Mahomes, but to say 20-0, it really puts a pressure on your team. In today's game, it's not even necessary to win every game."

To add to Ninkovich's point, the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers won it all as a wild card after finishing the regular season 11-5.

But the fact that going undefeated is so tough is why the pursuit of perfection is a mission worth monitoring.

Mahomes is one of the NFL's most dominant players. He guides arguably the league's most consistent team the past three seasons, and he believes there is another level for them to reach.

If the Chiefs can reach that level, they will stand above any other team to take the field while adding to Mahomes' already impressive résumé.

No pressure.

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