The second of his four touchdown passes against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday saw Patrick Mahomes become the fastest quarterback in history to reach 250 career touchdown passes. He did it in 116 games, beating Aaron Rodgers, who reached the milestone in 121 appearances. But here’s the thing: while Mahomes is breaking records in passing, he is also leading the Chiefs in rushing yards (130). What does it mean for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are set to face him come Monday?

“I feel like he’s always been pretty active as a runner,” defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile told the media ahead of the Jaguars’ practice on Friday. “I know he is running the ball a little bit more, but in past games he’s done a good job of that against us…So it really does add another difficult element to a defense for sure.” There goes a warning for the locker room.

However, he also gave a hint about the past struggles when he was the Miami linebacker coach from 2020 to 2023. That’s when Patrick Mahomes was also on fire. The DC said, “When I was in Miami, we played him a bunch of times and I thought he always did a good job keeping plays alive, trying to get through the middle of the defense, or finding an escape hatch in the pass rush.” In those 4 years, the Chiefs defeated the Dolphins twice.

As far as his thoughts on Mahomes never shying away from running the ball are concerned, Campanile is not too far off the mark.

The QB put up career-high numbers in 2023 when he rushed for a total of 389 yards. But compare this season’s numbers with those of last season, and there’s a story there.

Through the first four weeks of last season, Mahomes had rushed for 61 yards—less than half the distance he has rushed over the same number of games this year. The numbers prove exactly how much of a dual threat he is, and it is something that Campanile and his defense better look at.

But EssentiallySports’ Andrew Whitelaw has a different take. He thinks Mahomes is running “not because he wants to, but because he has to.” Translation? He has been compensating for an attack that was without star receiver Xavier Worthy until Week 4 (he suffered a shoulder injury in Week 1), and an aging Travis Kelce. Not to mention Rashee Rice is suspended till Week 7, and Mecole Hardman Jr. is on IR.

Sure, Worthy’s absence led to a Tyquan Thornton resurgence, with the WR recording 10 receptions for 182 yards over four games. But Whitelaw thinks both he and Hollywood Brown are “role players” and not “reliable stars.”

“Mahomes running around making magic is fun in September, but in January, defenses are smarter, hits are harder, and it’s just not sustainable,” Whitelaw said. “Think back a few years. Tyreek Hill stretching the field.”

Well, thankfully, the Chiefs have Worthy back now. And while our reporter Luke Hubbard has his own bold predictions about him, Campanile, too, cannot help but be wary of the wide receiver.

“I think he’s got elite speed, he’s a special player as well,” the Jaguars DC noted. “Really, I think he’s a good route runner. I know he got banged up early in the year, so he adds a whole other dimension to them when he came back. He obviously makes it difficult.”

Worthy registered five receptions for 83 yards on his return. And he is likely only getting started. And, as pointed out earlier, it’s not like Mahomes’ passing game has suffered too much, even with all the running he has been doing.

Patrick Mahomes “not easy to prepare for” according to Jaguars coach

The Jaguars’ DC conceded that Patrick Mahomes is definitely “not easy to prepare for.” “I have done that a few times in the past, but just an exceptional player, you know what I mean? As good as there has ever been, I think, at the position,” he said.

Indeed, the Jaguars have a fair idea of how good Mahomes is. After all, they have never managed to beat the QB, who has an 11:4 touchdown to interception ratio against them and has averaged over 300 passing yards per game in five games.

“I mean, I, you know, he has every attribute, you know, his top tier, so he could put a ton of strain on you,” Campanile added. “You know, obviously everybody has to do a great job plastering down the field because he just kind of kept so many plays alive in his career and been able, like you said, to get the ball down the field, but, you know, not only that, he really does a great job of throwing on time.”

However, the Jaguars have done a pretty good job in defense so far this season. They lead the league with 13 takeaways to their name. If they can carry that momentum to Monday, the Jaguars will have begun 4-1 for the first time since 2007.

In the meantime, as they prepare for the Mahomes challenge, consider giving Andrew Whitelaw’s analysis as a watch to delve deeper into Mahomes’ rushing numbers.