If you ask Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy about Patrick Mahomes’s performance on Sunday, he will tell you a lot of good things.
When asked about the performance of Patrick Mahomes on Sunday, Matt Nagy, the Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator, likely didn’t say anything you haven’t already heard about the team’s rookie quarterback sensation. Nagy was very positive about Mahomes’s growth throughout the season and his readiness for the start in Week 17. It’s also what every Chiefs fan thought when watching him themselves.
Mahomes started his first career game in Week 17 as Andy Reid decided to rest starting quarterback Alex Smith. Despite a couple miscues, Mahomes looked every bit the part of a starting NFL quarterback and even threw in some serious “wow” moments to whet the collective appetites’ of fans for next season—when Mahomes will presumably inherit the starting role.
When asked about Mahomes, Nagy had plenty of insight for reporters on Wednesday:
"“He did a really good job for all things considered. We wanted him to come out here and to go back to last week when you’re asking what we look for and it was to get the win, number one, which he did, and protect the football which he did for the most part. He had that one throw, had the juices flowing. But his read was there, his progression was there.“His feel within the system, being able to get in and out of the huddle, and make the correct ids and see where it’s at within the play was really good. So he’ll build on that and we were happy for him.”"
Mahomes finished 22 of 35 with 284 passing yards on the day despite the fact that he was making decisions behind back-up linemen and throwing to back-up pass catchers. There was no Tyreek Hill deep. There were no Travis Kelce mismatches over the middle. There was only 1 Kareem Hunt rush. There was no Eric Fisher, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif or Mitch Morse up front.
If Mahomes looks this good at this point, wait until he gets a chance to practice on the regular with the ones and has another complete offseason to prepare.