KC Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes used Men in Black Neuralyzer vs Dolphins

Patrick Mahomes wiped his memory clean of the horrific first quarter during the Dolphins game and came back better than ever.

I will always try and reach for a movie or science fiction reference to describe what I saw on the field from the Kansas City Chiefs, and in the interest of that, I will refer to this game as the Men in Black game. I call it that because Patrick Mahomes had a first-quarter that I have no doubt left him on the sideline, wishing for that nifty little MIB gadget, the Neuralyzer, to wipe his memory of the first 15 minutes of the Dolphins game.

Sunday would not be the first time that the Chiefs had to dig themselves out of a hole in Hard Rock Stadium, but this was an early hole and they dug it themselves. Mahomes threw two picks all season and had matched that by the end of the first quarter. These interceptions would have been in back-to-back drives, but sandwiched in between was a 30-yard sack that nearly landed Mahomes out into the parking lot.

At this point, Mahomes returned to the sideline, whipped out his Neuralyzer, and wiped the first quarter from his memory. He then came back out looking like Patrick freaking Mahomes. Now, that is not to say he went out and had a perfect game, for he still threw another interception, going over his total for the entire season in a single game, but for the most part, he looked like Patrick Mahomes.

Mahomes had his 26th game where he threw for over 300 yards, matching Hall of Famer Kurt Warner for as many 300 yard games in the first three years of a career. Mahomes finished 24-of3-4 for 393 yards and two touchdown passes (to add to his streak of games with at least one touchdown pass) so a pretty Mahomesish stat line, except for the three picks of course.

The Chiefs had four total turnovers and the offense essentially brought their C game against a very good Dolphin defense. Even still, the Chiefs still scored 33 points against said defense and walked out of Hard Rock Stadium with their second win in as many games, moving to 12-1, and maintaining their stranglehold on the wild AFC West for the fifth consecutive year. You can nitpick all you like, but you can’t really ask for more than that, because with any other quarterback, that just doesn’t happen.

Science fiction and movie reference cast aside for the moment, not only do I not think that this three-interception game is an indictment on Mahomes if anything it just makes him all the more impressive and should bolster his league MVP campaign. Now I know how that sounds, but hear me out.

I joke about Mahomes having possession of the Neuralyzer, but the fact is that he doesn’t. If he could wipe his memory, that would in fact be a lot easier and a lot less impressive than what it is he actually does, which is accept his mistakes, adjust to the pressure and get right back up on the ball.

Plenty of quarterbacks have bad days, whether it’s throwing picks, taking sacks, or caving under the pressure and never get off the mat. It’s hard sometimes to pick yourself up and shake off the rust, but Mahomes did it. Not a lot of quarterbacks can recover in the same game. Indeed if you told most people that the starter threw three interceptions and took a 30-yard sack, it would be safely assumed that he lost, but  Mahomes is the exception to this rule.

Mahomes is one of a very few quarterbacks to have a terrible start to a game, probably the worst start of his young career, then come right back in, score 33 points, and walk out with the victory. Mahomes does not have the Neuralyzer from Men in Black, he just has a will to win and overcome adversity and his own mistakes.

The fact is is that maybe we have all gotten a tad spoiled by having Mahomes as our quarterback, and this game serves as a reminder that he is a flesh and blood human being, that he is fallible and he is going to screw up and make mistakes. We as Chiefs fans are still spoiled even with that, because unlike a lot of quarterbacks who would let this get into their head and get them down, Mahomes learns from it, stands up in the face of adversity and his own mistakes and rallies to the ball.

For people already nitpicking Mahomes for his three-pick game, give the kid a break. People praise his gunslinger mentality and then condemn him for it when it backfires, but here is the truth of the matter — Mahomes is a gunslinger, that is who he is as a quarterback and that is what we have all come to know and love about him. One of the side effects of a gunslinger is that you are going to get picked off.

The fact that before yesterday it had only happened twice all season is nothing short of remarkable. If we are truly all being honest with ourselves, Mahomes has thrown a lot of balls that should have been interceptions but he got extremely lucky for whatever reason. So, for those of you who want an exciting gun-slinging quarterback, but you don’t want him to make mistakes and throw some picks here and there, you can’t have it both ways.

You can have a safe quarterback who throws dink and dunk passes and utilizes his safety valve targets more often than not and hardly ever gets picked off — a “win some lose some” quarterback — or you can have Patrick Mahomes, who’s gun-slinging mentality will produce jaw-dropping plays most of the time, and costly interceptions from time-to-time, but he will be able to put that behind him and find a way to win almost all the time. I know which one I prefer.

Mahomes might be fallible and he might make costly mistakes, but he is not a turnover machine and he has given us no reason to think he could become one or doubt his judgment or decision making. So, do we still want Mahomes to air it out and go for the deep bomb downfield? Of course we do.