Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been dazzling NFL fans since he first stepped on the field back on December 31, 2017. In just two years as a starter, he has already accomplished an NFL MVP award (2018) and was honored as Super Bowl LIV MVP back in February.
Top 10 Mahomes Moments
10. The Beginning
Mahomes was drafted 10th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft which put immediate pressure on then-starter Alex Smith. As the season wound down, the Chiefs clinched the AFC West prior to their encounter with Denver on the final Sunday of the regular season. Many starters would rest that game and Mahomes made his debut in impressive fashion, throwing for 284 yards while leading a game-winning drive. He accomplished this with Anthony Sherman as the Chiefs’ leading rusher and Albert Wilson as his leading receiver. This helped solidify Mahomes as the next big thing in Kansas City and Alex Smith was soon traded to the Washington Redskins.
9. Beautiful Chaos in Detroit
The Chiefs began the 2019 season 3-0 with relatively trouble-free wins over the Jaguars, Raiders and Ravens. The team traveled to Detroit in week 4 and a topsy-turvy game of bedlam would ensue.
In a game that featured countless turnovers (including a 100 Chiefs fumble return for a TD by Bashaud Breeland), TD overturns and even a hook-and-lateral, the Chiefs trailed late in the game 30-27 until Patrick Mahomes did what he does best. Watch the video below of his speech to the team before leading them on a game-winning 79-yard drive to secure the 34-30 win.
“We do not have to do anything else other than be ourselves.” -Patrick Mahomes
8. The Kid is Back
In a crazy twist of fate, this November game against the Titans would end up being a 35-32 loss but the significance is much greater than the outcome of the game. Mahomes had missed the previous two games with a dislocated kneecap and returned with a vengeance throwing for a season high 446 yards, 3TD and no interceptions.
A second half superhuman jump-pass TD to Mecole Hardman was a major highlight and, clearly, Mahomes was back and ready for the stretch run of the season. Oh yeah, the Chiefs wound not lose another game after this, winning their final six regular season games, two playoff games and Super Bowl LIV.
7. Are You Kidding Me?
Mahomes and the Chiefs were already the talk of the NFL after winning at L.A. and Pittsburgh to begin the 2018 season. Week 3 would see Mahomes start his first regular season game at Arrowhead Stadium and he delivered the goods for the home crowd with one of the more dazzling plays of the year.
With the Chiefs up 14-7, Mahomes would scramble, pirouette right, avoid pressure, pirouette left, stumble then delivered a strike to Chris Conley in the endzone. It would be the first of many jaw-dropping plays that would turn heads that season across the football universe.
6. A Second Quarter Birrage
After dispatching of Jacksonville rather easily week 1 of the 2019 season, the Chiefs traveled to rival Oakland where they would find themselves down 10-0 heading in to the second quarter.
Mahomes came alive to bring the Chiefs back, and then some. All he did was throw for 278 yards and four touchdowns, which is the most yards in any quarter since 2008 when Drew Brees had a fourth-quarter performance that included 294 passing yards. The Chiefs won 28-10 continuing their brilliant dominance over the Raiders alive and well.
5. A 4th Down Miracle
Down 24-17 at home with 1:25 to go against a feisty Ravens team late in the 2018 season, the Chiefs would need a miracle to get the win that day. Earlier in the game, Mahomes would complete the in infamous “no look” pass to Demarcus Robinson but it would be this gem 30-yards down field, across his body to Tyreek Hill on fourth and nine that would help send the game to overtime and an eventual triumphant victory.
On this same day, the Miami Dolphins knocked off the New England Patriots in dramatic fashion, giving the Chiefs the go-ahead for the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs.
4. Playoffs? No Problem
The Chiefs entered the 2019 NFL Playoffs as the #1 seed although the franchise had not won a home playoff game since January of 1994, a curse that haunted the team for years. Mahomes did not have his best outing that snowy afternoon, but he far outplayed Colts QB Andrew Luck and showcased his arsenal of unreal throws with an early no-look completion to Travis Kelce.
The Chiefs won 31-13 despite many NFL insiders picking the Colts to dominate the game thus proving that this time…things were different around here.
3. Left Handed Heroics
Trailing the Broncos 23-20 early in the 2018 season with time running out in the fourth quarter, it looked as if the Chiefs were about to be handed their first loss of the season. Then you saw something that you absolutely could not believe. Mahomes, who had been chased out of the pocket all night long by a relentless Broncos defense, was again having to break out wide and look downfield for a receiver.
With Miller closing fast on Mahomes’ right, the quarterback scrambled left to buy time to attempt a pass. Just as Miller got Mahomes in his grasp, the right-handed Mahomes switched the ball to his left hand and hurled a shot-put pass to receiver Tyreek Hill, who caught the ball and ran for a first down to keep alive the Chiefs’ chances of victory.
2. The Run
Consider this moment more like one-a rather than two. Once again, the Chiefs found themselves trailing in a playoff game. Late in the second quarter, from the Titans 27-yard line, Patrick Mahomes found himself flushed from the pocket. He eluded a defender before tiptoeing down the sideline, spinning between defenders at the 10 before lunging into the endzone, giving the Chiefs a 21-17 halftime lead.
The momentum completely shifted in the Chiefs’ favor after that play and you got this feeling that the Titans were just done right there. The play helped catapult the Chiefs to its first Super Bowl appearance since 1970 and solidified Mahomes as a legend in the making.
1. Jet Chip Wasp
Trailing, 20-10, with just 7:14 left in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs desperately needed to make some magic. On third-and-15, Mahomes hit Hill deep to put Kansas City’s offense down to the 49ers’ 21. It was a perfect route by Hill, and an even more miraculous throw by Mahomes. Had the Chiefs not converted that play, the chance of winning Super Bowl LIV would have decreased exponentially. Would they have punted on fourth down? Gone for a low-percentage shot in a desperate attempt to stay in the game?
In the end, Mahomes overcame a subpar outing and not one, but two more touchdown drives to bring a Super Bowl championship back to Kansas City for the first time in 50 years. It’s a moment that will live on in Kansas City sports lore forever and it immortalized Mahomes in the annals of NFL history.
