Head Brokers Patrick Mahomes woke up Friday morning unsure of who would get his passes on Sunday afternoon. Unsure if, for the first time since becoming a full-time starter in this league, he will have his tight end.
It might have been the best thing for him.
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Travis Kelsey and Terrick Hill are two of the most talented and irreplaceable players in their positions. Not only are they productive, they are unique in the way they present that production, and the bosses are undoubtedly at their best when they are available.
But their absence – and in Hill’s case, just the possibility of his absence – trapped the Chiefs in their most comfortable offensive game plan.
Just go play, 15.
The offense didn’t miss without the NFL’s top player receiving a tight finish and with the league’s second-leading wide receiver running into a low turn, a win in a 36-10 defeat for the Steelers fighting for the playoffs.
why? The man who runs the show. Mahomes completed 23 of 30 passes, no care of who caught them, and finished with 258 yards and three touchdowns. Try one pass in the fourth quarter.
“It’s going to be confirmed here, I know, but this is one of his great matches,” said coach Andy Reed. “The way he was seeing things out there and dealing with himself there against one of the best passing defenses in the NFL. My hat went to him.”
It’s not an aha moment, but it might be a reminder – whether it’s necessary or not.
Hill and Kelce are stars who, as Mahomes said earlier this week, can run trails “that no one else in the world can do.” There’s a reason the Chiefs are determined to play to get the ball rolling. Hill entered the second day of the NFL at receptions and is on track to break the franchise’s one-season record—which Kelsey set last year.
But during a week of planning as though they wouldn’t be available because they were put on the standby/COVID-19 list — Hill passed protocols on Saturday, while Kelsey sat outside — the chiefs didn’t even bother to feed the talented.
They just managed the crime. They asked Mahomes to take over. You choose the target. Don’t worry about who’s on the receiving end.
“Whenever players have the opportunity, they can step up and make plays. I’ll just take the readings,” Mahomes said. “I’ll find the open guy. We have a lot of good players in this team who are going to make the game.”
I am looking for an open man. This is often Kelsey and Hill, of course. But Mahomes patiently played on Sunday to wait for who he would be. At one point, my throw at Byron Pringle — a firearms arrow through a narrow window — sat in the pocket for more than seven seconds. Stare at a defensive high that outnumbered receiving options from 2 to 1 and waited for something to appear.
And you wouldn’t know it, something happened. Unbrushed receiver opened.
In another shot, with nothing opening at first, Mahomes threads to his right for more time, gestures to running back Derek Goure to go deeper like some sort of backyard soccer setup, then throws a pass down the sideline. I went for 50 yards.
He did the same a week ago in Los Angeles, and will do so over three straight runs that would hold up as the moment that sent the Chiefs to a sixth consecutive title in West Asia. He needed Kelsey that night – the Chiefs don’t win without him.
But those who drive on the West Coast and back on Sundays in Kansas City enjoy the same concept. That kind of insult – Mahomes advances through his readings, playing with a mixture of freedom of patience – with Hill and Kelchi at full throttle?
That’s exactly what sent Chiefs to three consecutive Asian Championships, in a back-to-back Super Bowl game.
“He never flinched,” Reid said. “He wanted the players there – these are two good footballers – but he didn’t hold back.”
This story was originally published December 26, 2021 8:47 p.m.
Sam McDowell covers the presidents and sports project of The Star.
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