When Patrick Mahomes labeled his second-half performance in AFCG vs. Bengals the "worst playoff football" of his career

Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been one of the most consistent performers in the NFL. In a career spanning seven years, Mahomes has achieved a lot; three Super Bowl wins in five appearances, five AFC Championships, and consecutive AFC Championship appearances since 2018.

Known for his ability to play under pressure, Mahomes has rarely let his side down by his poor performance. However, it happened in the 2022 AFC Championship game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

On "Pro Football Talk" with Michael David Smith in January 2022, Mahomes called it the worst play of his playoff career.

“That second half I played, I didn't play really good football at all. Probably my worst playoff football I've played was the second half of the game.”

This was Mahomes’ third loss in the postseason games. His previous losses came against the Patriots in the 2019 AFC Championship game and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2021 Super Bowl game.

Although many would take pride in leading their sides to those championship games, Mahomes feels differently. He is always trying to learn from his losses to become better. He continued:

“So I'm just trying to use that as a learning thing that whenever I'm struggling, or a team's struggling, just find a way to get positive plays because when you have a lead like that, you don't want to lose that lead.”

Patrick Mahomes promised to never lose a lead again

The Chiefs led the game at 21-10 by the end of the first half. However, they quickly lost the plot in the third quarter when the Bengals staged a comeback. The game ended in a tie at the last second before kicker Evan McPherson scored a 31-yard Field Goal to take the Bengals to victory.

Disappointed by the result, Mahomes promised to never lose such a lead again.

“We played such a great first half, even if we weren't getting what we wanted in the second half, I have to get better at taking what's there to try to get some points on the board, come away and get to the Super Bowl,” said Mahomes.

Sticking to his words, Mahomes and the Chiefs staged two more Super Bowl wins. Although they lost Super Bowl LIX against the Eagles this year, Mahomes will likely find a way to make another comeback.