Patrick Mahomes and the NFL’s next great quarterback rivalry

Deshaun Watson

Perception is reality. It’s unfortunate, but true. The perception is that Deshaun Watson’s statistical regression this season is due to his own deficiencies. Reality is that it’s the Texans who are deficient, and Watson has shown plenty of growth despite that.

If Houston ever manages to build properly around Watson, they’ll be very good for a very long time. But that’s a big if, as in the places where the Texans are bad, they’re bad, particularly along the offensive line, which isn’t going to be fixed in one offseason. At the rate they’re going, they’ll have Watson back on IR before they have the Texans competing for a championship.

If the Texans get on the right track, though, Watson and Mahomes could put on blockbuster performances against each other year after year.

Baker Mayfield

Could you imagine a world where the AFC ran through Kansas City and Cleveland every year? It feels like something that’d only serve as further proof we’re living in a simulation, so it’s probably gonna happen.

Maybe it’s just me desperately wanting the Browns to be great, but I feel like Baker Mayfield is the one to drag the Browns out of the Upside Down and back into reality. Storyline wise, this rivalry would have plenty. Two Midwestern teams with fan bases that have been put through decades of misery of varying forms finally rise up to take over the AFC on the strength of young, gunslinging QBs drafted by the same living, breathing crewneck sweatshirt.

The Mahomes-Mayfield connection goes back to Texas Tech, so if this does become a frequent matchup expect to hear the “Baker and Patrick were both at Texas Tech” anecdote about as often as you hear about Demetrius Harris playing basketball in college.

If Mayfield resurrects the Browns, the John Dorsey Bowl would become a near-yearly tradition, though I’d fully expect Mahomes to be the Brady to Mayfield’s Manning.