The week 11 victory over the Raiders was just another example of how unstoppable Patrick Mahomes has been throughout his career. Other quarterbacks have weaknesses or hurdles that they can’t get over, but nothing phases Mahomes and he appears to have no weaknesses.
Last Sunday, with 1:43 left to play in the ball game, the Kansas City Chiefs were staring down the barrel of a two-game sweep at the hands of the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders and quarterback Derek Carr had constructed a nearly flawless 12 play, 75-yard touchdown drive to take a three-point lead over the Chiefs.
The words “nearly flawless” are used because there actually was a flaw with that drive. The Raiders gave Patrick Mahomes too much time. The reigning Super Bowl MVP marched down the field in seven plays and threw the game-winning touchdown to tight end Travis Kelce. Too much time.
That is pretty much the only thing that Derek Carr did wrong in that entire game. He completed all but eight of his passes, he had almost 300 yards through the air, and he tossed three touchdowns as well. The Raiders as a team played a pretty flawless game with the exception of their defense, but it is very rare to see a defense play well against Mahomes. In fact, sports talk show hosts like Colin Cowherd were practically congratulating the Raiders on the loss.
Cowherd went on to state,
“Derek Carr was HUMMING, and that was as good as Derek Carr has ever played.”
– Colin Cowherd
So, should the Raiders feel good about that? Should they feel good that they got the best performance out of their quarterback and possibly their team, but they still lost to Patrick Mahomes? That drive from Derek Carr to take the lead late in the fourth quarter was a great drive and every sports media outlet was in a huge hurry to state how great it was. Circus clown Skip Bayless even claimed that Derek Carr “outplayed” Patrick Mahomes.
However, when Mahomes drove the field in five fewer plays for the same number of yards, no one was surprised. In fact, most people knew it was going to happen, including LeBron James.
The same thing basically happened two weeks ago against the Panthers and earlier in the year against the Chargers. It happened in the playoffs against both the Texans and the Titans. It even happened in the Super Bowl against the 49ers. Time and time again, Patrick Mahomes has proved that he can be knocked down, but he can’t be knocked out. While the Raiders won the first game, Patrick Mahomes made sure they wouldn’t win the second.
After a 34-20 loss to the Chiefs back in week three, Lamar Jackson labeled the Chiefs as “Our kryptonite” according to CBS Sports. Kryptonite is a fictional green substance that originated from the Superman comics. It is the only thing that can defeat Superman. Lamar Jackson used the word to describe how no matter what the Ravens did against other teams, the Chiefs have always been able to beat them. Jackson is currently 0-3 against Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Patrick Mahomes doesn’t have a kryptonite, however. Teams can get huge leads against him (i.e the Houston Texans) and he’ll still find a way to win. Tom Brady was probably the closest thing to kryptonite for Patrick Mahomes. In 2018, Brady got the best of number 15 in the regular season and again in the AFC Championship. Mahomes was able to finally slay the beast that is Tom Brady last season in a 23-16 victory that became pivotal in taking the second seed of the playoffs away from the Patriots. Mahomes gets another crack at Tom Brady this Sunday.
Think about it this way. If it wasn’t for a Dee Ford false start in the AFC Championship game two seasons ago, Patrick Mahomes could be going after his third straight Super Bowl title in his third season as a starter. This season, he has a chance to not only grab another Super Bowl title, but he is also the front-runner to take home another league MVP award. If he accomplishes that feat, then any comparison to Superman would be an understatement. Superman has a weakness, Patrick Mahomes doesn’t.
