By: Brandon Carr
Last night, we witnessed the start of a brand new era in the NFL. The Kansas City Chiefs won this year’s Super Bowl with a come from behind win to beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20. My biggest takeaway from this game is that the NFL has a new face of the league. His name is Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs had a 10 point deficit heading into the fourth quarter and it didn’t look good for Kansas City. With 12:05 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Mahomes threw his second interception of the game and gave the ball back to the 49ers. Even when the Chiefs forced the 49ers to punt the ball, Kansas City, when they got the ball back, were in a 3rd and 15 situation and looked like they were going to have to punt the ball back to the 49ers. This was until Mahomes reminded us that he is a special player. As the pocket began to close in on him Mahomes heaved the ball down the field to an open Tyreek Hill for a 44-yard reception. From there, Kansas City never lost momentum and their offense put up 21 points in the fourth quarter to win the game. This was the third time in this postseason where the Chiefs had to come back down from 10 or more points. The reason why they can do this is because of their quarterback.
Mahomes’ teammates never lost faith even when trailing in this football game. Travis Kelce of the Chiefs had this to say about his quarterback. “It’s Magic Mahomes,” Kelce said. “It’s Showtime Mahomes. He’s going to be himself no matter what the scenario is, and you know what? I love him. He willed this team back into the game” ….”It doesn’t matter the score,” Kelce said. “Doesn’t matter. We’ve got Pat Mahomes.” (The Washington Post). Mahomes’ teammates love him because of knowing that they will always have a chance to win with him at the helm.
Patrick Mahomes last night was asked by a reporter about him becoming the new face of the NFL. Mahomes had this to say, “There’s several guys that could be the face of the NFL. Lamar [Jackson], who was [named] the unanimous [league] MVP last night, he had one of the best seasons of all time at the quarterback position. And, so, there’s guys like that it seems like every single year. A lot of young quarterbacks, still a lot of veteran guys that are playing at a very high level. And, so, I just try to be the best Patrick Mahomes I can be.” (YouTube).
Head coach Andy Reid before the Super Bowl gushed about how great Mahomes is. “He’s a great kid, first of all,” said Reid. “So you give the guy a kid that grew up in the locker room, so you’ve got a feel for that. He understands the leadership role he’s been put in by position and how important that is, and he’s got that innate ability to lead. So you give him a little guideline on that, and he takes it and goes. “I’m not sure he doesn’t have a photographic memory because you give something to him one time, and he takes it and runs with it and doesn’t forget. We throw a lot of verbiage at him for these plays that we run every week and he’s able to make the other ones evaporate and put the new ones in without any flaws, so he’s special that way. “And he’s got great vision on the field, so he can see, which becomes important for quarterbacks, in particular, the way he does things. He utilizes all his receivers, and I always tell the guys, I said, ‘There’s never a dead route. There’s no clearing routes.’ Everybody’s alive because of his vision. He’ll shoot you and you better be ready. I like the way he goes about his business and he still has plenty of room to grow, which is exciting.” (ArrowheadPride.com).
Mahomes last night became the face of the National Football League. Everything that makes Patrick Mahomes what he is makes him the face of the league. He is as humble as it gets, his teammates always believe in him, and his ability to take control of the game and playbook is unlike most others. All of these qualities make him a great leader and combined with his talent and success, all of this is the recipe for giving him this title.
You have guys like Deshaun Watson, Lamar Jackson, and Jimmy Garoppolo. None of these guys even come close to Patrick Mahomes. What he has done in his career thus far is remarkable. Mahomes has won a league MVP, a Super Bowl, and was named the Super Bowl MVP, all being at the age of just 24 years old. With guys like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees all being at the tail-end of their careers, the NFL needed to have a new face that would be the face for years to come. The world got to witness the greatness that is Patrick Mahomes. For him to continue his unbelievable heroics on the biggest stage in American sports, puts him on the top of the NFL.
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Brandon's Breakdowns 