Patrick Mahomes Is Back and the Chiefs Are Coming for the AFC

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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes didn’t suddenly become bad at football. The former league MVP was simply waiting for the right moment to level up against the competition. 

He did so Sunday night against the rival Las Vegas Raiders, as the Chiefs captured an impressive 41-14 victory at Allegiant Stadium. 

Mahomes’ performance wasn’t perfect by any means and some of the previously voiced concerns about decision-making and risk-taking did emerge on a couple of occasions. Still, the Chiefs’ offensive leader completed 35-of-50 passes for 406 yards and five touchdowns in a typical Mahomesian effort. 

In doing so, the Chiefs catapulted themselves back into the thick of the AFC race since no true standout has appeared through 10 weeks of play. 

The progression from the game’s best player to many wondering whether the league actually figured out Mahomes and the Chiefs offense was always a weird discourse. Just like every other player at his position, Mahomes sees different looks from each and every opponent as they try to confuse him both before and after the snap. In some cases, they’re successful. In others, Mahomes adjusts and finds a way. 

Sometimes these adjustments take a little time, and the quarterback admitted as much over the last few weeks. 

“It’s kind of been one thing here and there each and every week,” Mahomes told reporters after the Chiefs’ 27-3 loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 7. “It’s not like a whole overarching one thing. [Sunday], it was probably me just pressing a little bit too early in the game—and then we kind of got down, and we were in that kind of mode where you no-huddle, which you don’t want to be in in the NFL.”

Later in that same week, he added, “I’ve said something to them that I’ve got to be better. At the same time, they have that mindset that they’re going to try to build me up. It’s a thing where you’re not going to play your best game every single game, and that’s when you have to rely on your other guys to kind of step up and make plays for you.”

All the while, the 26-year-old franchise signal-caller knew what made him one of the most successful quarterbacks of all time at an early age. Did he need to adjust his game slightly? Yes. But he couldn’t change his DNA. 

“I mean, I’m gonna take shots,” Mahomes said last week. “The last few years I’ve taken those shots, and they’ve worked. I’ve taken those shots, and they haven’t worked (as well this season), and we’ve still been able to find ways to score points.

“Whenever I’ve got a guy with a chance to make a play downfield, I’m going to give him a chance to make a play.”

Both the previous greatness seen from Mahomes and a more refined version showed up Sunday. Everyone saw a more patient quarterback, who looked more comfortable playing from the pocket and didn’t always try to push the ball downfield. 

So much has been made about teams basically relying almost solely on a Cover 2 shell to prevent those deep shots. The game itself is trending toward lighter boxes and with more defenders falling back in coverage. The entire point of the approach stems from the belief a defense can eventually force a quarterback into a mistake whether through confusion or impatience. The latter had been the toughest to overcome for Mahomes since so much of his early success has been predicated on chunk plays. 

The Chiefs put together three drives of 10 or more plays against the Raiders. They scored touchdowns on all three. Mahomes’ efficiency throughout the first three quarters showed a different side of his capabilities. Before the Chiefs’ final scoring drive with the game already out of hand at 34-14, Mahomes completed 26-of-32 passes for 219 yards and three touchdowns when throws under 10 air yards, according to the NBC telecast. 

Mistakes were still made with a couple of turnover-worthy plays thrown into the mix, particularly a dropped interception thrown into double-coverage with the safety over the top followed by a wild scrambling YOLO pass to running back Darrell Williams, who had to make a miraculous play on the ball to score on a 38-yard wheel route. 

“We’re all adjusting our games,” wide receiver Tyreek Hill told reporters. 

Williams and Jerick McKinnon didn’t post huge numbers, but they serve as threats as runners. Mahomes thrived in play-action situations, as NFL Next Gen Stats noted: 

Kansas City’s coaching staff did a nice job protecting third-string tackle Andrew Wylie with chips and extra blockers to slow Crosby, who entered the game with the league’s most pressures. Andy Reid’s playcalling kept the Raiders on their heels and never allowed those dynamic edge-rushers to pin their ears back and get after his quarterback. 

The lack of pressure coupled with Mahomes’ increased patience allowed the quarterback to excel even when the Raiders dropped extra defenders in coverage. 

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @brentsobleski.