Patrick Mahomes’ stellar performance give Chiefs another comeback win

Patrick Mahomes’s stellar performance completed a 17-point comeback against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5.

Monday Night Football versus the Las Vegas Raiders proves why Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes can come back to win any game. The statistics tell part of the story. His intangibles tell the other side.

The game didn’t start smoothly. The Kansas City Chiefs would fall behind 17-0 on the scoreboard. It was only the 2nd quarter with 9:22 remaining until halftime. The whole football world knew the game was not over. A big reason is that the Chiefs have quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

To this point, the Raiders’ defensive ends were causing constant pressure but Mahomes’ posture remained composed. History says that he is the most likely to win in this situation than any other quarterback in the NFL.

On the ensuing offensive possession, Mahomes would make plays most quarterbacks do not that have become too familiar. The first one found wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling across the middle of the field. He stepped up aware of the pass rush and delivered an accurate throw with an unconventional arm-angle. It zipped squarely to Valdes-Scantling even without staring directly at his intended target.

A couple of plays later the football IQ from Mahomes nearly landed a receiving touchdown for running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. He identified “54, 54” vocally from the Raiders’ defense prior to the ball being snapped. Doing so illustrates that Mahomes understood what defensive formation they were facing including their defensive assignments. This player was a linebacker that ended up covering Edwards-Helaire. Identifying this mismatch and delivering another accurate pass to the intended target produced a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce on the following play.

On the next possession, Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs into scoring position right before halftime. Once again he was poised enough to have the offense gain 34 yards in 17 seconds. With a little help from kicker Matthew Wright’s 59-yard field goal, the first half concluded with the score 20-10. Mahomes had played better than his first-half stats would show. He had completed 12 of 20 passing attempts for 98 yards and 1 touchdown. He was also sacked twice but had been under duress often.

Coming out of halftime the offensive line for the Chiefs provided better protection for their quarterback. Both Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Travis Kelce established a clear connection. For the rest of the game, Patrick Mahomes would distribute the football amongst his teammates. He was focused in every way and had a complete feel for where to go. Mahomes even bounced a pass off the helmet of Clyde Edwards-Helaire to paint a picture of just how dialed in and accurate he was. The second touchdown pass to Kelce was perfectly placed to ensure his go-to guy wasn’t in harm’s way by the Raider’s safety in coverage.

Patrick Mahomes’ final box score would tally up 29 completed passes on 43 attempts (67%) and 320 total yards (292 yards passing, 28 yards rushing). He also threw for 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. This night displayed everything. Count on Mahomes to give credit to others while trusting in everyone to make plays. Hyping up his teammates is another box to check. He would end the night by showing his admiration for Travis Kelce during a post-game interview.

There are many ways to describe how Patrick Mahomes performed on Monday Night Football. He continued to impress with stats. Glancing at other qualities provides a full perspective. Poised. Under control. Leader. Football IQ. These are 4 areas that aren’t quantified with numbers yet proved significant versus the Raiders. Those intangibles along with talent are why double-digit comeback performances can happen at any moment.