Mahomes, Money And Hoisting The Trophy Again

BY ADAM GREENE

There was a moment at the beginning of the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LIV where Fox color analyst Troy Aikman, in between huffing his opium pipe or whatever he uses in game to sound so bored and sleepy, offered the opinion that Patrick Mahomes, facing the best past defense in the NFL and down 20-10 on the scoreboard, hadn’t played a particularly good game.

He would go on to lead three consecutive scoring drives, throw two touchdowns and be named Super Bowl MVP.

How did Mahomes go from having a “bad game” to being the hero of the day?

He did it because that’s what the great ones do. They don’t have to be great all the time, just when it counts. Every single time when it counted the most this playoff run, Mahomes not only answered the call, he emphatically yelled into the nearest available bullhorn while pushing one of those rave sirens.

The Kansas City Chiefs trailed by 10 or more points in every game of this playoff run. They won all three by double digits. Think about that.

There’s not another player in the NFL that could lay claim to the talent to make that happen other than No. 15 for the Chiefs. And this is his third season.

He’s the best, most talented, freakishly gifted quarterback in the NFL and no one has a clue where his ceiling is. Because this isn’t it. Make no mistake. He’ll be better than this. At 24 years old, his brain hasn’t even fully developed. That’s just real science.

Mahomes can already do magical, wonderful things no one else can do and we haven’t seen anything yet.

When your team has a truly great quarterback, the shock isn’t that they made a play to win the game, keep a drive alive or take home a trophy. The shock comes when they don’t. The book was still unwritten on Mahomes until Sunday. We knew what he was capable of, but didn’t know he could pull it off. And then he did. And now, I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t keep doing it, over and over again.

Now, the Chiefs will, of course, have to pay for this good fortune with cold, hard cash. Mahomes will sign the richest contract in NFL history in both guaranteed and total money, but it won’t “reset the market,” because he’s a market all his own.

He’ll be the face of the NFL for the next 15 years and they’re blessed to have him. Everybody, Kansas City, Andy Reid and Roger Goodell know what they have in Mahomes. Hell, even State Farm does.

Are there any guys in his league? Not right now. Jared Goff showed flashes, but you can’t count on him like you can Mahomes. He’s not consistent from game to game and this year wasn’t from play to play. Goff had his chance last year to live this dream and he blew it. Maybe he’ll get another opportunity, but he’ll probably have to beat Mahomes to make it happen.

Lamar Jackson is a star, but nowhere on Mahomes level right now. We’re not playing that pretend game anymore. Carson Wentz can’t stay healthy.

There’s only guy that can even touch the hem of Mahomes’ garment and that’s Deshaun Watson, the guy drafted right after him in 2017, but as long as Bill O’Brien is his head coach, he’s gone as far as he’ll get.

Nope. The NFL belongs to Mahomes now and for a long time to come. Get used to looking at him. The Chiefs dynasty has just begun.

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