KC Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes proved he’s better than Lamar Jackson
Patrick Mahomes bounced back, as the KC Chiefs demolished Lamar Jackson and the Ravens on Monday Night Football.
*THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN WITH THE HELP OF A SCREEN READER*
As most of you probably remember and no doubt are currently holding a grudge against me for, I wrote a fairly scathing review of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs after a rather abysmal outing against divisional foe the LA Chargers.
Please allow me to redeem myself with my next few paragraphs about how Mahomes fared against league MVP and the team to beat in the AFC, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.
Before I am ran out of town for my last critical piece about Mahomes, please let me remind you that I wrote the following words at the end of last week’s piece.
“Fear not faithful readers, by this time next Tuesday, I am quite confident I will be writing a piece overflowing with praise for Mahomes ability to bounce back after a rough outing and look even better then ever.”
And that is exactly what I am about to do.
It is fair to say, that most Chiefs fans entered into Monday’s game with some trepidation, but for the rest of us, the storyline all week was that if the Chiefs needed a last second field goal against the Chargers, how on earth could they hope to beat the defending MVP and the red hot Ravens? Even two years of Patrick Mahomes and a Super Bowl victory has not taken away the fear that long suffering Chiefs fans have of some kind of a collapse, but not this time.
Indeed the match-up of former league MVP Patrick Mahomes against current league MVP Lamar Jackson and the Ravens was one of the most anticipated games of 2020, and even in just week 3 had definite playoff implications. You can imagine how elated I was to see that the Clark Kent from the week before had turned back into Superman once more.
Mahomes looked nothing short of stunning in a thrilling Monday night win over the Baltimore Ravens, bringing Jackson’s record against the Chiefs to 0-3. Jackson has only lost four games as a starter, and three of those losses are to Mahomes and the Chiefs.
Mahomes commanded the offense with his usual confidence and ease. It was certainly not a flawless performance, and some points were definitely left on the field in the form of a Darwin Thompson fumble, a missed field goal at the end of the first half and Mecole Hardman being unable to hold onto a touchdown reception, but other than these minor issues, Mahomes and the space ship that is the Chiefs offense took to the skies once again.
Mahomes went 31-42 for 385 yards, four passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and also had four rushes for 26 yards at crucial moments in the game. The Chiefs offense wracked up 517 yards of total offense, to the Ravens’ 228. I’m going to start calling the Chiefs offense, the Mahomesium Falcon, someone help me think of a spaceship name.
Of course, it would not be a night out with Mahomes if he didn’t break some kind of a record, so just to announce his presence with authority he did just that. With last night’s victory, Mahomes became the fastest quarterback to reach 10,000 yards in NFL history, as the ESPN broadcast team discussed during the game.
Mahomes and Jackson are going to be considered two of the game’s best at the position (if not the two best), but Mahomes proved he’s the better signal caller. Jackson threw for just 97 yards against what many had considered to be a mediocre Chiefs defense. Mahomes even rushed for more touchdowns than that of Jackson, further proving the point.
The Chiefs came into Baltimore as underdogs against the Jackson and the Blazin Ravens, and emerged utterly victorious with a final score of 34-20. Mahomes showed Chiefs fans that his lackluster performance against the Chargers last week was not even a blip on the radar (as if we had any doubt)
The KC Chiefs return home to Arrowhead on Sunday against a Patriots team that for the first time in 20 years, does not have TB12 taking the snaps. Instead the Chiefs will tangle with Cam Newton, and I have no doubt that Mahomes will shine in his homecoming.