We saw Patrick Mahomes become a “game manager” against Buffalo on Monday, but he still managed to dazzle us and do whatever it took to get a win.
Upon first glance, Patrick Mahomes played what some would describe as a very generic football game. 21 of 26 for 225 yards with two touchdowns is not bad by any stretch of the imagination, and a RTG of 128.4 was his second highest total of the season.
That being said, for the first time in his career, we saw Mahomes take the back seat, as the Chiefs gashed the Bills run game. I wrote all about that here, and it was a great game for the offensive line as well as Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
Much of Mahomes taking a lesser role this week had to do the fact that Buffalo was basically giving the Chiefs run friendly looks and Andy Reid did not have a problem running it down the Bill’s throats. When it did come time to pass the ball the Bills also wanted to limit any deep balls, but for the first time in a while we got to see the Chiefs incorporate more short passes into their game and it worked effectively.
The Chiefs made their first few drives look easy, and when Buffalo dropped into a zone around the red zone it opened up chances for Mahomes to throw to his favorite target.
Not just once, but twice, and on the clip below it seems that Buffalo was worried about Edwards-Helaire out of the back field giving Kelce a nice pocket to get open. Mahomes obliged and delivered a dime.
Mahomes did what he had to do for most of the game. He threw good ball’s completed short passes, and kept his teams momentum moving forward. He made good reads in space and allowed his team to operate. However, he is still the best quarterback on the planet, so he couldn’t leave the game without adding a few signature plays.
The more effectively the Chiefs can run the football, the more effectively the Chiefs can run RPO’s, and the more effectively we can see Patrick Mahomes in all of his no-look pass glory. Seriously when the defense has to depend on looking at him to make a read they might as well just give up the yards.
Mahomes has the peripheral vision that not many quarterbacks if any quarterbacks in the NFL have ever had. You can see in the clip just how much it makes the linebackers come out of position as Robinson streaks across the field.
It would also not be a Chiefs game without being able to see Mahomes scramble out of the pocket and make an impossible throw to a man down the field.
He is making this routine, and the more routine he makes it look the less awe and attention it will draw from the national headlines. There are still very few quarterbacks in the NFL who have the ability to make this play.
Patrick Mahomes might have to take a back seat for a few weeks, and that’s ok. If teams continue to drop seven to eight men in pass protection and want to play their linebackers nearly ten yards off the ball, the Chiefs need to pound the rock.
But there will come a time when teams get tired of seeing the Chiefs push the ball down their throats, and they will bring men into the box. This will be when it is time for Mahomes and Chiefs receiving core to go back to what they know how to do best.
