Patrick Mahomes film review, Week 2: the Creator

On a day where things weren't going right, Mahomes had to take it upon himself to move the ball

Gauging an NFL quarterback by wins and losses is silly. There are so many facets that go into whether or not a team secures a victory every week that placing it all on one player is absurd.

On the other hand, it’s very important to determine whether a quarterback does enough to help his team win, or goes above and beyond to creates plays in a situation where others may not that make winning more likely.

Over the last 2 weeks, Patrick Mahomes has played 2 very different games against 2 very different defenses that had 2 very different levels of success in slowing down what the Chiefs like to do. In Week 1, Mahomes played the role of a juiced-up game manager, taking easy throws the Texans gave him and generally staying within the confines of the offense. He only had 3 plays where I charted him as having “created” yardage outside of structure or on a failed play for 27 yards (and a touchdown, importantly).

On Sunday, Mahomes was forced to play an entirely different style on a day where he was struggling with certain things. And he, um, well…

We’ve all seen this throw, but holy crap anyways. Given the context of the play (defender closing, needing to put it in front of the receiver and throw him open, the fact that there was no time to remotely set feet), this might have moved up to the best play I’ve seen Mahomes make.

This play exemplifies how creative Mahomes had to be to move the ball at times against the Chargers. I’ve discussed at length at The Athletic how the Chargers were able to play an excellent defensive gameplan, taking away Mahomes’ first read frequently and generating pressure, as well as how the Chiefs shot themselves in the foot multiple times on plays where there were opportunities to score. In short, the Chiefs’ opponent was playing them really well, and they weren’t playing their best.

And so if Mahomes wanted the offense to move, he had to create yardage. Let’s look at the numbers from this week.

*Not included in these numbers are the offsides “shot plays” where Mahomes knows he has a free play and chucks it down the field.

(Because not all throws can be charted for depth of target and/or accuracy, the numbers will look wonky at times)

Mahomes played a game that was wildly different from what he did in Week 1. He had to create yardage out of thin air on multiple occasions as the Chargers hit and harassed him while showing good coverage all over the field. He created 161 yards on 10 plays Sunday, 5x more than the yardage he had to create against the Texans.

It’s also worth noting that Mahomes had to deal with 4 drops throughout the game, each one on a play that would have earned a first down. Further, he only progressed to multiple reads on 13 plays despite dropping back 50+ times, partly the product of intense pressure by the Chargers. When Mahomes did hang onto the ball, such as his touchdown throw to Kelce, he paid the price.

Here, Mahomes is able to read zone coverage pre-snap based on how the defense responds to the motion. He knows that they have an advantage with the route combination on the right side of the field, he just needs to let Kelce get enough depth before releasing that the defenders can’t recover. Of course, that gives the pass rush time to get home and results in Mahomes taking a big shot. The fact that he managed to place the throw so perfectly and with touch is a testament to his toughness.

If you’re enjoying this, you should know this article is just a small bit of what we do here at the Chief in the North. For $12/year, or $2 a month if you want to give it a quick try, you’ll have access to multiple film reviews and commentary every week. That’s what you pay for a decent meal at McDonald’s for a full year, and I’ll never raise the price on you. Click below to subscribe, and let’s have some fun.

For most of the game, the Chargers’ combination of good coverage (often sitting on the Chiefs’ routes with excellent anticipation, a sign of good scouting and familiarity), intense pass rush and exceptional job sniffing out screens (they killed almost every screen attempt before it could really develop, with tremendous discipline) stymied the Chiefs’ offense. Mahomes’ teammates dropping some passes and struggling to block didn’t help.

Of course, Mahomes wasn’t immune to mistakes in a game where the offense struggled. In addition to some of the issues he had with pocket presence (6 “happy feet” snaps are well above his average, regardless of pressure he’s facing), he had some accuracy issues as he seemed to be rushing his process at times.

Here, Mahomes is looking to push the ball through good coverage, which is something he’s generally successful at doing. However, the throw here is off base and Watkins essentially turns into the defender as he tries to ensure the ball isn’t picked off. Mahomes made several throws similar to this as the game progressed, with the ball going off-course as he tried to get it out faster.

However, as the game moved along and it became clear Mahomes was going to have to create yardage, he tightened up his process and stopped making mistakes with pocket movement, instead doing what it took to move the ball.

Here, Mahomes has some pressure around the edge, but it’s directed wide by Schwartz and rather than avoiding it by drifting farther backwards, he correctly steps into the pocket even though it’s gotten a bit muddled. He moves outside to continue buying time and delivers an absolute rocket to Travis Kelce, who had reversed course to stay open against the Chargers’ zone.

Mahomes adapted to the Chargers’ pass rush, which allowed him to stop being affected by both real and phantom pressure and instead led to some much-needed big plays.

Everyone obviously remembers Mahomes’ incredible touchdown throw to Hill and his 3rd and 20 scramble for a first down (his willingness to use his legs was a major factor this game, which is something I wrote about this offseason). However, this play to Hardman played a crucial role in the Chiefs’ getting into position for his later heroics on the throw to Hill and is demonstrative of how he started dealing with pressure later in the game.

Eric Fisher gets bull rushed backwards into Mahomes’ lap, and with Bosa taking an outside arc backing away from the rush would create a rush lane (again, something that happened more than once against the Chargers). However, Hardman’s route isn’t finished yet and needs another moment to develop.

Mahomes steps up (as much criticism as the interior line got after Sunday, they held up very well here) and delivers the throw off-balance trying to get it out at the right moment, and the Chiefs pick up 20+ yards after the initial defender falls in his attempt to close on Hardman.

An underrated facet to Mahomes’ greatness is his ability to adjust to the circumstances of each game on the fly. Against the Chargers, he settled into the idea that he was going to have to get used to good coverage and a killer pass rush and just be creative. And he responded to that very well.

While the touchdown to Hill was the best throw Mahomes made on the day, this play was my favorite. The ability to string along the defense and wait… and wait… and wait some more for something resembling a throwing lane is just hilarious. And it’s made even better by watching the reaction of the Chargers defenders who watched the ball go whizzing by turn simultaneously to see Hardman with the ball.

Mahomes didn’t have his best game as a Chief Sunday. In fact, through 3 quarters he was having one the worst 2 or 3 healthy performances of his career, if not the worst. But he adapted, created, and did enough to help the Chiefs win on a day most things were going wrong for the offense. Sometimes being impressive doesn’t mean being elite throughout a game, and Mahomes was certainly impressive last week.