Monday night’s Chiefs-Broncos game was very, very fun, featuring more superhuman play from the impossibly good Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes completed 13 of 16 passes in the fourth quarter and engineered two long touchdown drives to bring the Chiefs back from a 23–13 deficit and into the lead. He completed passes on third-and-16, fourth-and-one, first-and-20, third-and-one, third-and-five, second-and-30, and third-and-seven. You truly take no pleasure in describing it this way, but he looked poised out there! The poise was just off the charts.
The best play of the game came on that 3rd and 5, with 3:13 left on the clock and the Chiefs* not yet in Broncos territory. A failure to convert here would’ve probably meant a Broncos victory:
The Broncos brought six rushers and overloaded the offense’s right side with three blitzing linebackers, forcing Mahomes to roll to his left. With Shane Ray and Von Miller hot on his heels and not a second to spare, Mahomes transferred the ball to his left hand and shot-put a wobbly ball right on the money to Tyreek Hill, who squirted past the first down marker and out of bounds to keep the drive alive and stop the clock. That drive stayed screwy: Two plays and two penalties later, Mahomes faced a second-and-30, which he turned into a manageable third down with a 23-yard dart to Demarcus Robinson. Four plays later, Kareem Hunt found pay-dirt on a four-yard run to put the Chiefs ahead for good.
Since we’re already here, that clutch drive didn’t end the fireworks. Case Keenum led a heroic, doomed nine-play Broncos drive featuring some clutch plays of his own. A 12-yard completion on fourth-and-11 followed by a 36-yard completion on the very next play had the Broncos in business at the Chiefs’ 28-yard line with :30 on the clock and no timeouts. Momentum stalled there on three consecutive incompletions, including a bad Keenum overthrow aimed at a wide open Demaryius Thomas, who would’ve strolled into the end zone. With the Broncos facing a fourth-and-10 following a Kansas City timeout, Vance Joseph’s boys tried something bold:
The hook-and-lateral! Or, anyway, it looked like a hook-and-lateral, but it was also possibly just an incompletion. Either way, it was a fun and fitting end to a very good primetime football game. Patrick Mahomes is unbelievable.
Refs allow play to happen after play clock runs out VIDEO PLAYLIST
Patrick Mahomes celebrates Kareem Hunt's game-winning touchdown against the Broncos. (Photo: Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports)
The Patrick Mahomes train lost just a bit of steam Monday night, but not enough to derail the Kansas City Chiefs' perfect season as they outlasted the Denver Broncos, 27-23, to remain the AFC's only unbeaten team.
No player in the league was hotter than Mahomes in the first three weeks, when he set a record with 13 TD passes over that span. He had more modest numbers against K.C.'s AFC West rival (304 passing yards, one TD apiece throwing and running) — Denver was the first team Mahomes faced twice in his career — but perhaps did something more important to his development by leading his first fourth-quarter comeback, which culminated with a 4-yard touchdown run by Kareem Hunt with 99 seconds to go.
"It was a great test," Mahomes said on SportsCenter after the game. "This Denver defense is the real deal."
Mahomes extended the eight-play, 60-yard game-winning march by completing a 6-yard throw left-handed to Tyreek Hill on third-and-5 from his own 45 with 3:07 to go. Yes, Mahomes transferred the ball to his off hand while rolling left to outrun pressure and successfully heaved it in Hill's direction.
"I did it a couple times in college," Mahomes said of the southpaw toss. "I just put it out there, and he made a great play."
The legend continues to grow.
Here are three things we learned from Monday’s game:
Broncos backs: Denver nearly pulled off the upset by continuing to ride its stellar rookie running back combo of Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman. The duo teamed for 136 rushing yards and both scored a touchdown in staking the Broncos to a 23-13 fourth-quarter lead.
More: If Kareem Hunt's run wasn't an NFL safety penalty and violation, nothing is
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More: 32 things we learned from Week 4
Cooler barbecue: The Chiefs and their fans will only care about their 4-0 start. But this was the first time Kansas City failed to score at least 38 points this season. Playing in front of a raucous Denver crowd, the Chiefs committed 10 penalties, including two false starts by left tackle Eric Fisher. Wideout Sammy Watkins was forced from the action early by a hamstring injury. Hunt did have his best game of the season with 175 total yards.
Keenum's struggles: Denver quarterback Case Keenum continued an up-and-down transition to his new club. He completed 21 of 33 passes for 245 yards and threw his sixth interception of the season (against three TDs). Worse, Keenum missed a wide-open Demaryius Thomas down the right sideline with 16 seconds to go for what should have been a game-winning 28-yard touchdown.
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NFL: Patrick Mahomes has shown off his creativity, changing hands mid-sack to throw a completion for a crucial first down.
Patrick Mahomes is athletic, agile — and ambidextrous, apparently.
Thanks in part to a nifty left-handed throw as he was about to get sacked by Von Miller at midfield on the game-winning drive, the right-handed Mahomes rallied the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs past the Denver Broncos 27-23 on Monday night.
By overcoming a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit, the Chiefs (4-0) took a two-game lead over the Broncos (2-2), their AFC West rivals whom they’ve now beaten six straight times.
The only other remaining unbeaten team in the NFL is the Los Angeles Rams.
Down 23-13, Mahomes directed a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ate up more than six minutes and culminated with a 2-yard TD toss to tight end Travis Kelce.
After a three-and-out by Denver, Mahomes added a 60-yard touchdown drive, handing off to Kareem Hunt for the 4-yard score with 1:39 remaining.
On that last drive, Mahomes was getting dragged down by Miller on third-and-5 at midfield when he shifted the ball to his left hand and threw it to Tyreek Hill a yard past the first-down marker at the Broncos 49.
“He’s actually more athletic than people” realise, Denver linebacker Brandon Marshall said. “People talk about his arm, but he can move out of the pocket and make the necessary throws.” Even with his left hand.
“I didn’t know he threw it with his left hand,” marvelled Miller. “He’s a great quarterback.”
Patrick Mahomes is the Stephen Curry of football. — Michael Trevino (@Michael_Trevino) October 2, 2018
Patrick Mahomes is terrifying. — scott pianowski (@scott_pianowski) October 2, 2018
Updated GOAT rankings …
1. Patrick Mahomes
2. LeBron James
3. Jacob deGrom
4. Nakobe Dean
5. Michael Jordan — Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) October 2, 2018
Patrick Mahomes, is out of this world. The confidence on the left hand first down conversion. How do you stop this offense — Nick Phan (@Swaguhsaurus) October 2, 2018
Mahomes ended the game with 304 passing yards, taking his season tally to a staggering 1,200 yards. Which is the most through four games in franchise history.
“Patrick worked real hard on that left-handed throw,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid quipped. “Some amazing plays there. We’ve seen it in practice but not under those conditions.” Mahomes proved slippery all night.
“We played well and we got to him but he would scramble out to his right as he likes to do,” Marshall said.
“It’s almost like we’d have him in our fingertips and he’d scramble away and throw for a first down.
“The kid can play. He’s going to be really good. He’s really good right now, but we should have won the game.”
It was the first time since 2004 that the Broncos blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead at home.
While all of the talk surrounded young star Patrick Mahomes, it was his teammate Eric Murray who left social media reeling.
The Chiefs strong safety pulled off an outrageous intercept midway through the third quarter, the first of his career.
Broncos quarterback found tight end Jeff Heuerman, but as he caught the ball with his left hand it was Murray who stripped it away and came down with it.
Eric Murray with one of the most spectacular interceptions I’ve ever seen — Exavier Pope (@exavierpope) October 2, 2018
