Patrick Mahomes provides under-appreciated performance vs Chargers

Let’s take a look back at Patrick Mahomes’ performance vs the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2. He made some highlight plays as usual but it was not easy.

Give credit to the Los Angeles Chargers defense. Their defensive unit had gotten completely overshadowed before the game. That often transpires when tremendously talented quarterbacks face off. Los Angeles has put together an exceptional collection of skilled players.

By the end of the season, I’d imagine more offenses will perform drastically worse than the Kansas City Chiefs when facing the Chargers. Even without a spectacular stat line, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes played well enough to win on Thursday Night Football.

Mahomes felt pressure often when dropping back to pass. Chargers defensive end Khalil Mack helped to finish this sack midway through the 1st quarter.

Kansas City found it difficult to sustain drives that would result in points. They fell down to a 10-0 deficit fairly quickly. Although not ideal, getting behind double digits had Mahomes and company in a recognizable situation. As the second quarter began the Chiefs started to get some movement. An all-too-familiar highlight materialized to punctuate a 75-yard drive. The Chargers’ defense didn’t allow a single read to come open initially. Mahomes had to scramble, evade a tackle, and side-arm a pass between 2 defenders as he found running back Jerick McKinnon who waltzed into the end zone.

Even after getting hit time after time, Mahomes figured out a way to make plays when it mattered most. The offensive line started creating a pocket for Mahomes to step up into when able to do so. He kept believing in receivers to make plays both short and long. Coming out of halftime, the Chargers scored a touchdown that created another 10-point lead. The response from Mahomes was a beautiful 41-yard deep shot to wide receiver Justin Watson.

Overall, the offense didn’t have its best showing. You can see that adjustments were made from both Mahomes and the offensive line. When blocking broke down quickly, the escape and backup routes were quickly established.

Nonetheless, this is evidence that they were cognizant of the secondary options. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce caught a pass in the third quarter due to Mahomes knowing who will be open when under duress. He didn’t force the first read. After his pocket collapsed, he rolled out to the right and hit Kelce between the numbers.

To walk away with a victory, the Chiefs leaned on the running game at times, passed the ball to whoever was open and required help from their own defense to create big plays. Mahomes’ final statistics—24/35 on passing attempts for 235 yards. 2 touchdowns with 0 interceptions. He was sacked only once in a game with heavy pressure. There were a couple of potential interceptions which got a mention in the postgame presser. Great defenses will force that to happen sometimes.

Most importantly is that Kansas City won with a complete team effort. Led by their quarterback, they defeated a tough divisional opponent.