Fox Sports Radio host Rob Parker has never been shy about picking apart Patrick Mahomes, and the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback’s return from a torn ACL and LCL gave him fresh material this week.

Speaking on “The Odd Couple,” which he co-hosts with Kelvin Washington, Rob Parker argued that “Patrick Mahomes can no longer win games by himself.”

“I know people don’t want to hear that. People think when you talk about Patrick Mahomes and his decline, that is disrespectful; that he won the three MVPs, two MVPs, and a couple three Super Bowls, that how can you talk about Patrick Mahomes in that way? We’re just not there anymore.”

Parker didn’t stop at questioning Mahomes’ individual dominance. He argued that the entire formula that once made Kansas City nearly unbeatable has quietly disappeared.

“Thank God for the running game. In the old days, it didn’t matter who was running the football, who was catching the football, how good the defense was or wasn’t. It didn’t matter. If you had Patrick Mahomes, you had a chance to win. Not most nights, but every night you had a chance to win. We are not there anymore.”

Statistics for Mahomes have slipped over the last few seasons. He’s gone from a near-permanent spot in the top 3 of PFN’s NFL QB Impact metrics to entering the 2026 season ranked 11th. And then he also tore his left ACL in December, which had already put his availability for the 2026 season opener in doubt.

But he did return, and he did so to face a defense that finished No. 4 in PFN’s 2025 NFL Defense Impact Metrics, and without his starting left tackle.

“Watching Patrick Mahomes made me want to throw up in my mouth,” Parker continued.

“He is the new YAC king. Yards after the catch, Patrick Mahomes is the YAC king. He’s not throwing a ball downfield. It’s embarrassing what those numbers were. Dude, did you watch some of those passes? The butterflies, the floaters. This is not the Patrick Mahomes that you felt good about and thought, I’m watching something so special here.”

While Kansas City beat the Broncos 31-10, Mahomes completed just two of his first 12 pass attempts. He then went 13 of his last 15 for 170 yards. In the second half alone, he was 7-for-9 for 122 yards with a touchdown and a pick. His Week 1 line reads 15 of 27 for 184 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also ran for 23 yards and a score on seven carries, though he threw a sloppy interception in the second half.

The numbers don’t read that bad, but many have questions about the overall impact. NFL film analyst Greg Cosell outright said that “(Mahomes) wasn’t really a factor in the game”.

That said, this wasn’t the first time Parker had questioned Mahomes’ place in the GOAT debate. Following Kansas City’s Super Bowl LIX loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Parker pushed back on the idea that Mahomes had already surpassed Joe Montana, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, pointing to Montana’s perfect 4-0 record in Super Bowls and three Super Bowl MVPs.

“We’re talking about [Patrick Mahomes] chasing Brady, and I was like, ‘Wait a minute. Did something happen to Joe Montana?’ How did he jump over Joe Montana, who’s 4-0 in Super Bowls [and] won three [Super Bowl] MVPs? Two [rings] with Jerry Rice, two without [him]… when did [Mahomes] pass Joe Montana?”

For now, Kansas City is 1-0, and Mahomes is nine months removed from the ACL and LCL injuries that ended his 2025 season. His Week 1 performance was not a typical Mahomes showing, but it was also his first live NFL action since the injury.

And he knows what he needs to do. “At the end of the day, I have to be better,” Mahomes said after the game.