Patrick Mahomes faces the biggest challenge of his career: It wasn’t that long ago that Mahomes was perched high above the other young quarterbacks in the league, all of whom aspired to the kind of success he immediately attained as a starter. Now he has more competition from his peers, and nobody has become more formidable than Burrow. Mahomes has faced the Bengals three times over the last two years and lost every game. The first loss, in Week 17 of the 2021 season, seemed mystifying. The second one, in last season’s AFC title game, was humbling. The third defeat, which came in Week 13 of this season, was revelatory. That loss told the world that Cincinnati wasn’t just on the same level as Kansas City — the Bengals actually were superior.
A fourth consecutive loss will only further strengthen the narrative that the kryptonite for Mahomes wears orange and black jerseys and resides in southern Ohio. This game is even more daunting because the Chiefs’ All-Pro quarterback is nursing a high ankle sprain that he sustained in Kansas City’s Divisional Round win over Jacksonville on Saturday. Mahomes valiantly played in the second half of that victory, all while limping noticeably at times. As much as he tried to sell the notion that he’ll be close to 100 percent when this AFC Championship Game kicks off, the reality is that high ankle sprains typically don’t heal that quickly for anybody. The Bengals have bamboozled Mahomes quite a bit lately. They’ll try to do it again while he’s likely to be less mobile than he’s ever been in his games against Cincinnati.
Entering his seventh pro season, Patrick Mahomes has become the consensus best quarterback in football.
In 2022, he became the first player to win MVP for his performance in the regular season and Super Bowl MVP since Kurt Warner accomplished the feat in 1999. Mahomes completed 67.1 percent of his passes for a career-high 5,250 yards with 41 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He led the league in yards and TDs.
So where is there room for growth in Mahomes’ game?
“With quarterbacks, the work’s never done,” head coach Andy Reid said in his Tuesday press conference. “I’ve mentioned it before, it’s like being a farmer. You just keep on cranking. And we’re always trying to give him new challenges with things and he loves that and loves to attack those types of things. So, that’s where it’s at.
“But there are always things to work on. Fundamentally, there’s things to work on. He spends a tremendous amount of time at that, he puts a lot of effort into it. And, obviously, the new plays.”
Mahomes said himself on Tuesday that everyone is motivated by the chance to repeat as Super Bowl champions, as it hasn’t been done in nearly 20 years.
We’ll see if Mahomes’ performance can drive the Chiefs to another Lombardi Trophy this year.
