Patrick Mahomes didn’t just win the Chiefs’ 33-30 overtime victory against the Colts on Sunday. He looked like the version of himself that has haunted defenses for years, and the way Indianapolis chose to defend Kansas City told the whole story.
The Colts made their bet almost immediately. On the first snap, they crowded five defenders across the line of scrimmage, even as running back Kenneth Walker still broke loose for 19 yards after reversing course.
On the next play, they did it again, stacking five men on the line with two more creeping toward it. Two plays in, the message was obvious: make somebody else beat us.
That somebody was Patrick Mahomes.
And Mahomes answered in a way that looked nothing like a quarterback coming off a knee issue. He threw for 382 yards and three touchdowns, his biggest yardage total in nearly three seasons, and he did it with 47 pass attempts that included plenty of throws worth circling on the film.
There was the strike to Rashee Rice after he slid up in the pocket and escaped pressure. There was the third-down toss to Walker in overtime that set up the game-winning field goal, a throw made with last year’s loss to the Colts in mind after they repeatedly got hands up to swat passes.
There were also two deep shots to Tyquan Thornton that landed exactly where they needed to.
But the most important part of Mahomes’ day wasn’t any one throw. It was the volume of answers the Chiefs built around him.
More than one-third of his attempts came on play-action, and he completed 14 of 17 for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Those 14 play-action completions were a career best, according to Next Gen Stats.
That didn’t happen by accident. It happened because Kansas City finally gave defenses something else to worry about.
The Chiefs’ offseason move to restore a viable Plan B paid off in a big way Sunday, to the point that the Colts spent four quarters reacting to it as if it were the main plan all along. Even Mahomes said the defense’s focus on the run made sense after what Kenneth Walker did in the opener, when he rushed for 173 yards and the Broncos missed 28 tackles.
Mahomes also admitted he had been hard on himself behind the scenes after the surgery and the comeback talk settled down. He said he had rushed reads and missed open receivers. Teammates, when asked how tough he’d been on himself, just shook their heads and laughed.
Then the competitive edge kicked in.
“That want-to-rip-your-heart-out instinct kicks in,” head coach Andy Reid said.
Kansas City didn’t need a fired-up Mahomes so much as a better setup around him. And once the Chiefs gave him that, the quarterback started finding openings everywhere. A week after he failed to complete a single pass that traveled more than 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, he went 7 of 11 on throws beyond that mark for 155 yards and a touchdown.
Even with the Colts loading up to stop the run, Mahomes still found space. On the second snap, after Walker had ripped off those 19 yards, Mahomes handed the ball back to him, watched Indianapolis bite, then pulled it away and hit Xavier Worthy alone over the middle for 16 yards.
It was, as the story of that play suggests, easy.
“It’s fun for me,” Mahomes said.
The Chiefs are 2-0. They’re winning close games again.
They’re playing entertaining football again. And the reason traces back to the same place: they have unleashed their quarterback again.
In Other News...
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Season-ticket members around Kansas City are opening their latest annual perk from the Chiefs, and this one has a little more swagger than a typical thank-you gift. The team sent out red wool varsity jackets with a vintage look, a nod to the kind of old-school style that fits a franchise that has spent years turning Arrowhead into one of the leagues loudest and most recognizable stages.
It is the sort of giveaway that does more than fill a closet, because these gifts have become part of the conversation among NFL fans as teams look for ways to reward their most loyal buyers. Chiefs supporters were already quick to share their reactions on social media, and with a jacket like this, the bragging rights may last well beyond the first wear. [Read more 🡒]
Andy Reid Had The Perfect Reaction To A Caitlin Clark Chiefs Nod
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Reid responded with appreciation for the gift and took the opportunity to praise Clark as well as the WNBA, giving the exchange a little more weight than a simple celebrity handoff. For Kansas City fans, it was another reminder of how often the Chiefs have become part of a broader sports conversation, and how a nod from one of the sports biggest names can travel well beyond the football field. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Headed To Miami With Two Defensive Issues Still Lingering
The Chiefs are heading to Miami with a couple of defensive concerns still hanging around after the win over Indianapolis. Special teams penalties put the defense in awkward spots, and the pass coverage on the back end was tested enough to keep Steve Spagnuolos group from looking as buttoned up as it wants to be at this point in the season.
LJarius Sneeds day in coverage drew attention, and the front four did not provide the kind of relief Kansas City usually leans on, finishing without a sack against the Colts. Spagnuolo has been vocal about Sneeds talent, but the bigger issue now is whether the Chiefs can tighten the coverage and generate more pressure before a tougher test in Miami forces those flaws into the spotlight again. [Read more 🡒]