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.
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
There aren't enough words in the English language to describe Patrick Mahomes.
It appeared as if he and the Kansas City Chiefs were well on their way to their first loss of the season when they fell behind the Denver Broncos 23-13 in the fourth quarter of Monday's game at Broncos Stadium at Mile High. Then he unleashed a left-handed throw, dazzling mobility and two cold-blooded touchdown drives to clinch a 27-23 victory and move to 4-0.
Mahomes finished 28-of-45 for 304 yards, two total touchdowns and zero interceptions in the AFC West showdown and created early separation from the 2-2 Broncos in the division standings.
Patrick Mahomes Has Emerged as Legit NFL Superstar After Incredible Comeback
Mahomes and the explosive Chiefs offense has been the story of the season in the AFC. After all, he threw for a video-game like 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions in the first three games and looked like the best quarterback in the league in the process.
However, it takes memorable performances on prime-time stages to elevate into NFL superstardom, and that is exactly what Mahomes delivered Monday in the face of extensive adversity.
He was operating without one of his primary weapons after the team announced Sammy Watkins suffered a hamstring injury. What's more, his offensive line struggled to deal with the overwhelming crowd noise in Denver and committed multiple drive-stalling penalties while failing to keep Von Miller and the pass rush out of the backfield.
It was a testament to Mahomes' incredible individual talent the Broncos finished with just one sack, as he twisted out of arm tackles, evaded blitzers with his athleticism and even showed off his wheels with a touchdown run.
He responded to the 10-point deficit with a 12-play, 75-yard drive—that included a fourth-down conversion and a touchdown pass to Travis Kelce—to cut into the lead and an eight-play, 60-yard drive to win it. While Kareem Hunt (121 rushing yards) scored the final touchdown, it was Mahomes' inexplicable left-handed throw to Tyreek Hill with Miller bearing down on him that stood out.
The play will be on all the year-end highlight reels and underscores Mahomes' ascension to the next tier of quarterback play in front of a national audience.
A league MVP and potential Super Bowl run is well within his capabilities.
Chiefs Defense Puts Ceiling on Super Bowl Aspirations
For all the deserved praise Mahomes and the Chiefs offense receive, the harsh reality is the defense could prevent this team from lifting the Lombardi Trophy.
It was dead last in the league in yards allowed per game and 30th in points allowed per game entering play Monday, and the struggles continued as the Broncos offensive line consistently opened massive holes while Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay combined for 136 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Freeman's touchdown highlighted Kansas City's lackluster tackling as he dragged defenders into the end zone on what should have been an unsuccessful play.
Frankly, Kansas City's defense is lucky it didn't give up the winning touchdown after Mahomes engineered the incredible comeback. Denver's final drive included a fourth-down conversion, a 36-yard gain by Jeff Heuerman and a wide-open Demaryius Thomas who would have scored had Case Keenum not airmailed him.
Between Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Andy Dalton, Philip Rivers and even a resurgent Joe Flacco, Kansas City's defense will surely face a combination of talented quarterbacks on the road to the Super Bowl. It may even play a daunting defense like the Jacksonville Jaguars' and be forced to make stops to remain in the game.
This group isn't talented enough to avoid critical mistakes in the single-elimination playoffs, let alone in a possible Super Bowl matchup with the likes of Jared Goff, Aaron Rodgers, Carson Wentz, Cam Newton or Drew Brees.
Mahomes will need to be Superman on a weekly basis come January if the Chiefs are going to overcome their defense.
Case Keenum Leaves Broncos Fans Longing For More
The Broncos would have won this game with even an average performance by Keenum.
He finished 21-of-33 for 245 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception and wasn't able to complement a strong two-headed rushing attack. His missed throw to Thomas will haunt him as he watches it back on film.
Quarterbacks with realistic Super Bowl hopes make those big throws.
Keenum's ceiling is the Broncos' ceiling. They are relying on a quarterback who has one good season on his resume. While he was great for the Minnesota Vikings in 2017 with 22 touchdown passes and seven picks, Keenum appeared in more than eight games in just one year prior to that, recording nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2016 for the Los Angeles Rams.
The rushing attack is there for the Broncos. The pass rush is there for the Broncos. The consistent quarterback play they need to contend for an AFC West crown isn't.
It cost them Monday.
What's Next?
Both teams face AFC opponents in Week 5 with the Chiefs hosting the Jaguars and the Broncos at the New York Jets.
Refs allow play to happen after play clock runs out VIDEO PLAYLIST
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
