Patrick Mahomes still magical despite poor pass protection vs Saints

Patrick Mahomes was magical even when his offensive line was far from it.

To do what Patrick Mahomes does is already remarkable. The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback continues to make miraculous plays time and time again. When throwing in the fact that his pass protection this season has been putrid, what he’s doing is even more remarkable and is the biggest proof that he deserves to be crowned MVP when the 2020 season is in the books.

Mahomes proved just this against the New Orleans Saints, who weren’t going to let the reigning Super Bowl MVP beat them. The Saints defense played deep throughout the game, almost daring the Chiefs to become a running team on Sunday.

While the Chiefs did take advantage (they ran the ball 41 times for 179 yards and one touchdown), Mahomes still had to do his part to get this team a big win. His stats might not look astounding (26-of-47 for 254 yards and three touchdowns), it was once again all about the big plays made by No. 15.

Patrick Mahomes made some eye-popping plays against the Saints.

Jim Nantz and Tony Romo mentioned several times on the broadcast that the only way that Mahomes was going to beat the Saints secondary was by creating “Mahomes Magic”. That’s exactly what he did on several occasions on Sunday.

The biggest play from Mahomes was obviously the touchdown throw he made to Mecole Hardman in the back of the end zone. There was no room on that throw, but Mahomes made it happen by trusting Hardman and putting the ball where it needed to go.

That might have been the biggest play, but Mahomes also dug the Chiefs out of some holes. When they were facing a 2nd and 18 deep in their own territory, Mahomes connected with Sammy Watkins on a 10-yard gain. One play later, the Chiefs were near the red zone.

Mahomes also turned on the jets in this win, cranking out 37 yards on the ground. His longest rush of the day was a 24-yard scamper in the fourth quarter, which came shortly after the Saints made it a one-score game. That run gave the Chiefs a first down in New Orleans territory and got the offense into the red zone.

What makes this performance even more impressive was the fact that Mahomes did not have a good offensive line in front of him. He was sacked four times and hit 11 times by the Saints defense. Mahomes took a really big hit late in the game, which led to a fumble and allowed the Saints to make this a much closer game than it needed to.

It’s honestly incredible that Mahomes played as well as he did despite the lack of protection upfront. The Chiefs were down to their third-string right tackle, but Eric Fisher struggled to block Trey Hendrickson, who feasted throughout the afternoon. The Chiefs need to address the offensive line this offseason for sure.

When looking at Mahomes’ stats from this game, the three touchdown passes obviously stand out, but 254 yards seems low for him. The Saints’ defense is very good and they gave Mahomes all he could handle, but he still threw for three touchdowns and led the offense to a big win.

Patrick Mahomes has faced two good defenses the past two weeks and has done his part against both of them. He’s continuing his “Why I Deserve MVP” tour and it’ll conclude with games against the Falcons and Chargers.