Patrick Mahomes makes it look too easy against Cleveland Browns

The game of football at the NFL level is not supposed to look as easy as Patrick Mahomes is making it look through the first 10 games of his career.

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Cleveland Browns on Sunday in a matchup that many were worried about being a trap game. The Browns came in with an interim head coach after firing Hue Jackson which had many believing would lead to a more focused unit. Baker Mayfield is a player with a high upside and the Browns defense has been above average to good this season. Throw in John Dorsey wanting payback against his former employer who fired him, and if there was ever a trap game this would be it.

Mahomes had other ideas however as he turned this game into his own personal fun time. Mahomes threw for a career-high 379 yards and three touchdowns with only one interception. The one interception came at the end of the half and was basically a Hail Mary that I don’t even count when I’m breaking down a game. Behind Mahomes performance and the defense performing well enough to win once again, the Chiefs beat the Browns 37-22.

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Let’s breakdown Mahomes performance in this win and see how it happened.

THE GOOD

Opening Drive

The Chiefs came into the game leading the league in opening drive points at 41 but they’d have to work for it to add to that total this week. Mahomes and the Chiefs started their first drive of this game started at their own 5-yard line. The Chiefs didn’t even blink though as they went 95 yards on just eight plays that only took two minutes and 43 seconds. The punctuation came on a screen pass to Kareem Hunt that he took 50 yards for the score.

Through nine games the Chiefs have scored seven touchdowns and two field goals on their opening drive. Combine that with the fact the Chiefs defense has allowed the fewest opening drive points in the league; Mahomes and the Chiefs know how to get ahead and never look back.

But it’s not just in the first half, the Chiefs are just as dominant coming out of the locker room from halftime. Mahomes has led the Chiefs to 45 points in their first drive after halftime, stumping any momentum the opposing team may have. They have six touchdowns and one field goal starting the second half including the 10 play 75-yard drive against the Browns on Sunday. Mahomes leading the Chiefs on these hot starts demoralizes an opposing team and puts them on their heels from the start.

More Records

For all the energy used to try to figure out a nickname for Patrick Mahomes, everyone turned out to be wrong. It should simply be “Record Breaker” because it seems he’s setting a different record every week. This week is no exception to that as he broke multiple NFL marks in Week 9.

Mahomes has now thrown for more yards (3,145) in his first ten games than any quarterback in NFL history. He also set the record for most touchdown passes (29) in the first ten games of an NFL career. He also tied an NFL record of most consecutive 300-yard passing games by a quarterback with Andrew Luck at eight.

The records are likely not going to slow down as Mahomes faces the Arizona Cardinals in Arrowhead this Sunday. He is just one touchdown shy of the Chiefs record for most touchdown passes in a season at 30. I am not sure what the record is for yards and touchdowns in the first 11 games of a career, but I would have to bet they are within striking distance for Mahomes.

His Third Touchdown Throw

I can’t talk about the good of Mahomes on Sunday without mentioning what was one of the best throws of his young career. During the first drive of the third quarter, the Chiefs marched 62 yards down the field as Mahomes took a first and ten snap from the Browns 13-yard line. Mahomes sat in a perfect pocket formed by his offensive line and fired a bullet into the end zone. The ball traveled just over the fingertips of two Brown defenders before sticking into the outstretched hands of his tight-end Travis Kelce.

In the dictionary of NFL words, this video should sit by the definition of “perfect throw.”  With most quarterbacks, that is a dangerous throw that would have little to no shot at being completed—more likely it’s intercepted. But with the arm strength and touch of Mahomes, he was able to put in the perfect spot. The worst case scenario is that it would have skimmed off Kelce’s fingers and gone out of the back of the end zone. It’s a throw that some “experts” will say is an example of a risk-taking gunslinger, but in reality is a perfect pass by a QB who knows what he can do.

THE BAD

Taking Hits Late

The only honest bad play I can say Mahomes had all day came late in the fourth quarter. He took a snap on third and eleven from the Browns 24 yard line with the Chiefs up 37-21 and just over five minutes remaining in the game. Mahomes, in a designed play, rolled out to his left looking for a first down and instead was sacked for a 13-yard loss. The sack not only took the Chiefs out of field goal range but also allowed the Browns to get a double team hit on Mahomes.

The play itself was no big deal as it had no bearing on the outcome of the game, since the Chiefs were going to win whether they scored another three points or not. In a playoff game against the Patriots, I have no doubt Mahomes would have checked it down or thrown it away and took the field goal. The issue with this play came with the fact he took an unnecessary hit. Mahomes is the MVP and he should be taking as few hits as possible. Hopefully next time, even in a situation that doesn’t matter, he just throws it away and doesn’t take even a light hit.

THE FUTURE

The future for Mahomes and the Chiefs continues to be as bright as the sun. Mahomes is currently on pace to shatter nearly every first-year quarterback record. After today’s game, he’s on pace for 52 touchdowns, 5,157 yards with only 12 interceptions and a 66% completion percentage. He’s off the pace for the single-season records of 55 touchdowns by Peyton Manning and 5,477 by Drew Brees, but they are within striking distance.

The most important stats though are the Chiefs are now 8-1 and still, hold the advantage for the number one seed in the AFC. Mahomes has faced every obstacle to this point and has now defeated the dreaded “trap game” stigma. He is the odds-on favorite to win the MVP award and the Chiefs are among the favorites to be in the Super Bowl. There is a lot of excitement left in this season and in Mahomes arm.