Have the Chiefs become too reliant on Patrick Mahomes magic?

Patrick Mahomes can make all the throws and then some, but have the Kansas City Chiefs become too reliant on his quarterbacking talents for their own good?

The Kansas City Chiefs face a huge road test on Sunday afternoon, as they will have to take on the New England Patriots in Foxborough. While Kansas City is coming off a dominating win over the archrival Oakland Raiders, New England put forth a largely dismal effort vs. the Houston Texans in primetime last week. Look for New England to rebound and give the Chiefs quite the challenge.

On this week’s episode of Stacking the Box, FanSided‘s Matt Verderame and Mark Carman, along with former Chiefs offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz, look at the lines between the Chiefs and the Patriots on Sunday. Schwartz bets on the Patriots, while Verderame thinks the Chiefs will cover. However, he is concerned with how reliant the team is on Patrick Mahomes’ magic (23:21).

“I love watching Mahomes,” said Verderame. “He’s my favorite player in the league to watch, even putting aside my fandom. He’s must-see television, just like [Brett] Favre was in the prime of his career, it was just insane.”

“I think they have a little bit of a problem, not even just Mahomes, just offensively. They were so great last year, and at times, even this year. They just think they can do anything and it’s just going to work out…At some point here, as great as Mahomes is, sometimes your talent can be a little bit of a curse. You think sometimes that no matter what I do, it’s going to work out.”

It is an interesting point that Verderame makes. These sort of trick-shot throws of his and sloppy footwork were big reasons why he wasn’t the first quarterback off the board, though he should have been, in 2016. It’s the highly volatile nature of the way he plays quarterback that makes him so reminiscent to Favre in some capacities. He’s not as reckless but does clearly have it in him.

Sunday will be an interesting test for Mahomes and the Chiefs. Winning in Foxborough is so hard. He’ll have to be great if Kansas City wants to get the best of the New England defense. However, the Chiefs cannot afford the extra careless throw out of Mahomes in this one. New England rarely makes mistakes and the Patriots will surely capitalize on any and all Kansas City ends up making.

Here are a few other topics discussed on this week’s episode of Stacking the Box:

• Russell Wilson is the difference-maker – 4:45
• NFL won’t clear Antonio Brown because he’ll sign with the Patriots – 16:11
• Josh Allen proved he’s not a bust – 36:35
• No one will want the Cleveland Browns job – 43:24

All this and more!

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