The Kansas City Chiefs are showing that last year was no fluke. Fresh off of Patrick Mahomes’s MVP season, the team had hefty expectations comings into the 2019 season. People wanted to know if their high-powered offense could keep up over multiple seasons, if Pat Mahomes could create the same magic he did last year, and if the offense can maintain the backbreaking onslaught it gave teams during 2018.

The Chiefs are 4-0 and first in the NFL in points at 33.8 per game. Could they be in for one of the greatest offensive seasons in the history of the NFL?

The Chiefs’ offense

The Chiefs opened the season with a 40-point outing against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and they haven’t put up less than 28 points in the games since. The offense, led by Mahomes on nearly every snap, has already accumulated 1,492 passing yards and 407 rushing yards for 10 touchdowns and no interceptions. 

Defenses simply cannot figure out how to stop Mahomes and company. No matter what is thrown, it always seems to hit its target and make its way down the field, which is why it is being compared to some of the best offenses in history. To put it into perspective here is how the numbers compare to some of the greatest offensive seasons the NFL has seen.

Peyton Manning’s Colts and Broncos

Even Peyton Manning, who ran several of the greatest offenses in history during his time with the Indianapolis Colts, failed to do throughout an entire season. While the Chiefs’ numbers could easily stand above Manning’s best season with the Colts in 2004, as it stands, the 33.8 points per game would beat his best year in the NFL. 

Manning threw for 49 touchdowns during that season, and while Mahomes may struggle to reach those numbers, he also hasn’t thrown a single interception so far this season. Nobody is ready to crown Mahomes the next generation superstar quite yet, but if he keeps it up he will not only be compared to Manning but other greats both past and present. 

One interesting note, however, is that Manning did spearhead an even better offense when he was playing in Denver. There, he threw for 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns during the 2013 season. While he was slower and more hobbled by season, it may have been Manning’s best statistical year of his career. 

Tom Brady’s Patriots

The Chiefs’ scoring would have to go up if they wanted to catch up with the 16-0 Patriots in 2007. Despite falling apart in the worst possible moments of the Super Bowl, the 2007 Patriots ran a historic offense that ran the scores through the roof. The Patriots finished that season putting up 36.8 points per game thanks in large part to Tom Brady’s arm. 

Brady threw for 4,806 yards during that season and 50 touchdowns. Once again, Pat Mahomes will have a hard time matching that touchdown number after zero passing touchdowns in week 4. Overall, however, the offense could theoretically catch up to the Patriots if the Chiefs have a few more monster games in them.

Kurt Warner’s Rams

Many consider the 1999 St. Louis Rams to be the best offense in the history of the NFL. Kurt Warner followed his non-traditional path to NFL superstardom with a trip to the Super Bowl. Although other teams, including the current Chiefs, put up more points per game than the St. Louis Rams did during this season, the team had a knack for making every play count in a way that few could match. 

The Rams were also the only team on this list to use their offense to win a Super Bowl, and Warner’s performance was a large part of this. Although he was younger than Pat Mahomes, Warner had a similar sophomore rise. After playing just one game during his rookie season, he came out scorching once the Rams called his number. He finished the year with 41 touchdowns, 13 touchdowns, and 4,353 yards as well as a Super Bowl MVP. 

This is, perhaps, the most likely type of season one could expect from Mahomes, and at just 24 years of age, we could see even greater ones in the future.