We have both negative and positive observations of Patrick Mahomes against the Indianapolis Colts. Let’s take a deeper look at the pros and cons from his Week 3 performance.
Did anyone actually think the Kansas City Chiefs would go undefeated? That was never expected ahead of the season. In a relative sense, getting a stellar and mistake-free performance from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes each week is a little fictitious. As you probably know by now, the Indianapolis Colts handed the Chiefs their first loss. Their record now sits at 2-1.
After this game, there were many storylines. Some involved the haywire display from the special teams unit. Others mentioned a crucial penalty by Chris Jones resulting in a Colts score on their final possession. There was even criticism of the Chiefs coaching staff. As usual, the quarterback is also in the discussion. Here we will look into the ups and downs of Mahomes’ performance.
The Ups for Week 3
Chemistry with Travis Kelce
Tight end Travis Kelce was targeted 8 times by Mahomes. His final numbers were 4 receptions for a total of 58 yards. Kelce also scored twice—a 3-yard receiving touchdown and a 2-point conversion reception following a score from running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Something to note here is that Patrick Mahomes looked for Kelce in the end zone a couple of times in the second half. Even though both targets weren’t completed those opportunities will be frequent when he is in single coverage.
Spreading the ball around
Mahomes has reiterated on many occasions that everyone is going to get the ball. This was proven to be true once again as 6 different Chiefs caught a pass. Both Kelce and wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster were thrown to 8 times. Wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling had 7 and Edwards-Helaire had 5 respectively. This seems to be a recipe for success as long as players are getting open.
Ball Security
Throughout this game, there was consistent pressure by the Colts’ defense being put on Mahomes. Some of this was caused by poor blocking from the offensive line of the Chiefs. Other times the Colts simply had success with their pass rush. Mahomes was hit on 5 occasions by defenders but only got sacked once. He seemed to scramble around quite often but never fumbled the ball.
Once the game was in fight-or-flight mode, Mahomes would throw his first interception of the season. The Chiefs had 18 seconds to go from their own 30-yard line to get into scoring position at the end of the game. The situation was understandable but it still counts against him unfortunately in the statistics. Outside of that moment, the offense never let the football fall into the hands of the opposition.