KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Ask any coach or player about the NFL and they’ll tell you that the game picks up speed when the playoffs arrive. There is no more time to think about the field; Decisions are often made by momentary instincts rather than carefully designed game plans.
Perhaps this is why Patrick Mahomes has thrived in the post-season.
Whether it’s his preponderance of unseen passes, insane lateral dribblers, or the myriad other ways the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback sparks creativity on the field, there is arguably no better player in the NFL when it comes to playing the game. Sand soccer. His ability to make something out of nothing leaves teammates and enemies alike shaking their heads.
“My family or friends are like, ‘Oh my God, how is Patrick Mahomes? And I say, “He’s just such a special individual,” said Chiefs wide receiver Jojo Smith-Schuster, whose career was revamped during his senior season by playing for him.
“It’s just like playing ‘Madden’ when you had Michael Vick, who could run all over the field and then shoot it 80 yards down the field,” explained Smith-Schuster. “It’s kind of like that but it’s more of an ILR — in real life.”
What has come to be known simply as the Mahomes Magic around Kansas City tends to shine this time of year, and the results are just as amazing: He never failed to reach the AFC Championship Game in four years as a rookie, twice went to the Super Bowl and once won MVP award while ending the franchise’s 50-year title drought.
Will try to improve to 5-0 in the Divisional Round Saturday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“I think all the guys have realized that whenever they sign with this team, we want to win the Super Bowl. If we don’t, we feel like it’s not where we should be,” Mahomes said. “But you can’t look forward. We have a great team to play this week, playing great football, so how can we train today so we can be better by the end of the week? And I think you have to have that mentality – and I think the guys have – and I think we’re in a good position.”
The Chiefs, winners of the last seven titles in AFC West, are rarely on bad terms with Mahomes on the field. In total, he is 8-3 in the postseason. He averages 307 yards per game, a number propelled by his 404-yard effort in last year’s wild card win over the Steelers. He has thrown 28 touchdown passes against seven interceptions while adding five TD runs, including one in last year’s Divisional Round on the Bills.
That night at Arrowhead Stadium might be Mahomes’ best packaging in the playoffs.
The Chiefs trailed 29-26 with less than two minutes remaining when Tyreek Hill threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to regain the lead. And when the Bills raced the other way and scored on a touchdown with 13 seconds left, Mahomes answered with two long completions by Hill and Travis Kelsey to set up a Harrison Butker field goal as time expired.
In overtime, Mahomes completed all six of his passes, the last of which was a winning TD at Kelce in the 42-36 victory.
Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy said, “Pate is a very competitive guy, and on top of that, he’s clearly a great football player. He’s going to do everything he can to make sure he can help us be successful.”
That means working tirelessly on his career, and the results are clear: Mahomes broke his own franchise record with 5,250 yards passing this season, going with a league-leading 41 touchdown passes and four touchdown runs.
“With me having him in his rookie year to where he is now, I’ve come a long way,” said quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy, who spent some time as a coach for the Bears before returning to Kansas City this season.
“Sometimes the hardest thing for some quarterbacks is calling a play. For him, it’s like second nature,” Nagy said. “It wasn’t like that as a rookie. Sometimes we take that for granted because we have some unique formations, move transitions, plays, etc. Well, that’s just the beginning of the play. You have to get up and do everything else at the line of scrimmage, and then, by the way, you have to play.”
Mahomes has been making them for years. And make it look easy.
Most of the time.
The last time he took to the court in the playoffs, against the Bengals in the AFC Championship last year, he put in perhaps the worst performance of his career. Mahomes still scored 275 and three touchdowns, but also threw a pair of interceptions, and they gave Cincinnati a chance to rise from a 21-3 deficit for an overtime 27-24 victory.
It’s the loss that fueled Mahomes through the regular season and in the postseason this year.
“You’re building this whole season,” he said. “Regular season, you take it week by week, but you want to be here in the playoffs, and you know you’re going to be playing the best football teams in the league, and that’s what you want to do as a competitor. And so I’m excited to play a great football team at Arrowhead Stadium. That’s always the time. good “.
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