Super Bowl LIV preview: Conference titans clash as Chiefs face 49ers
Patrick Mahomes’ postseason
Patrick Mahomes is easily the most effective quarterback in the NFL right now, and he plays for the Kansas City Chiefs. I say the first, because there’s a number of national pundits who continuously attempt to take away from Mahomes’ accomplishments. They say he’s mostly great because he has Andy Reid, or he has fantastic weapons at his disposal.
Reid is a great coach, but you could argue that Mahomes is what makes this engine go. Many quarterbacks have played under Reid, and enjoyed success, but none of them have looked like Mahomes through his first two seasons. A handful of quarterbacks have taken snaps with the Chiefs in the last few years, with roughly the same cast, and none of them have looked like Mahomes. The more the national pundits push this narrative, the more they lose credibility. That said, few of them had much credibility to begin with.
I say the second, because the fact that the best player in the NFL plays for the Chiefs is still dreamlike. Chiefs fans have endured journeymen and castoffs for most of the franchise’s history. It’s almost as if, because of our suffering, the universe has reverted to the mean and now we are blessed with the NFL’s brightest star. It’s hard to put into words just how much fun it has been to watch him play, and we hopefully get to do that for the next decade or more.
Pontifications aside, Mahomes is having an incredible run in these playoffs. Through two games he’s completing nearly 66 percent of his passes for 618 yards and 8 passing touchdowns, and has added 106 yards and 1 touchdown on the ground. In fact, some say he’s having one of the best postseason runs ever.
According to Pro Football Focus, Mahomes grade of 95.7 through two games is easily the highest in this year’s playoffs and the highest in the playoffs since they began grading in 2006. While he may not have had as jaw dropping of a 2019 campaign as the one he had in 2018, he’s easily shown himself as truly the league’s MVP during the postseason.
The upcoming test will be one of his stiffest of the season, facing the second ranked pass defense according to Football Outsiders DVOA. That said, he has already played three of the top eight pass defenses this season and fared extremely well in those contests. Mahomes is the consummate gamer, and I’d expect more of the same in Super Bowl LIV.