The Kansas City Chiefs can’t stop a nosebleed, but they are 2-0 thanks to Patrick Mahomes having the best start to any season in NFL history.
Patrick Mahomes isn’t going to be a great quarterback. He already is a great quarterback.
At this point, any casual football fan knows the story. Drafting 10th-overall out of Texas Tech in 2017, Mahomes was touted as a raw gunslinger out of an Air Raid system that has yielded little success at the next level. As a rookie, Mahomes sat the entire season save a meaningless Week 17 foray against the Denver Broncos.
This season, Mahomes was given the reigns after Alex Smith was traded. So far, so incredibly good.
The 22-year-old has already broken a record, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to throw 10 touchdowns over the first two weeks of a season. After launching four scoring bombs against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1, Mahomes went great guns at Heinz Field, throwing a half-dozen touchdowns in a 42-37 win.
Kansas City’s offense is the most lethal in the league, something of an aerial circus. Mahomes is the ringmaster, with Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Kareem Hunt serving as the main attractions. Through two games, the quartet has accounted for three 100-yard games and six scores.
History has shown us that almost all quarterbacks need seasoning. A year or two under center, taking their lumps, learning how to check in and out of calls for advantageous matchups. Check the film, and Mahomes appears to have all of that down pat, making his prodigious talent all the more terrifying for opposing defenses.
On Sunday, the Chiefs were attempting to exorcise a mansion’s worth of demons. Kansas City had never won at Heinz Field, and hadn’t beaten the Steelers in Pittsburgh since the final week of the 1986 season.
In the Andy Reid era, the Chiefs have seen Pittsburgh five times including the postseason. They are 1-4, with the lone win coming in a game started by Landry Jones. For years, it was Alex Smith being befuddled by the zone schemes Dick LeBeau made famous, while Le’Veon Bell ran wild against overmatched Kansas City fronts.
With Bell holding out and Smith in Washington, the Chiefs took a new tact and walked out of Pittsburgh with an unusual result.
All isn’t rosy in Kansas City, though. The defense stinks, averaging more than 500 yards against over the first two weeks. The Chiefs are getting Eric Berry back at some point, but that’s like putting a band-aid on the Titanic. Eventually, that unit is going to be the downfall of some ugly losses.
Still, that’s all for another day. Currently, the Chiefs are notching 40 points per game, while Mahomes is on pace for 80 touchdowns.
Kansas City is laying waste to its competition, and the reason, for the first time in forever, is a generational talent at quarterback wearing arrowheads on his helmet.
Power rankings
Top 10 old school uniforms
1. Los Angeles Rams (1950s yellow tops)
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Bucco Bruce)
3. Los Angeles Chargers (1960s, powder blues)
4. San Francisco 49ers (1980s, wide pants stripe)
5. Miami Dolphins (1980s, Marino era)
6. Houston Oilers (Oil rig helmet)
7. Oakland Raiders (1960s, silver numbers)
8. Cincinnati Bengals (1970s, BENGALS helmet)
9. Denver Broncos (1980s, “D” helmet)
10. New York Jets (1980s, Al Toon era)
Quotable
Lorenzo Alexander said he was told Vontae Davis pulled himself out and retired at halftime. Said he hasn't seen anything like it going back to Pop Warner. "Completely disrespectful."
— Matthew Fairburn (@MatthewFairburn) September 16, 2018
– Buffalo Bills linebacker Lorenzo Alexander on Vontae Davis’ impromptu retirement
This is a first. Vontae Davis, apparently frustrated he couldn’t start for the Bills, decided to hang up the cleats during Buffalo’s 31-20 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Not exactly a confidence-builder for the Bills.
Podcast
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Random stat
The Detroit Lions have employed 30 head coaches in their history. Only George Wilson has 50 victories and a winning record.
Info learned this week
1. Vikings, Packers play to unsatisfying tie
For the second week in a row, penalties and bad kickers led to a tie. This Sunday, it was the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings playing 70 minutes only to end in a 29-29 stalemate, keeping the duo tied atop the NFC North.
Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins traded blows, throwing for a combined 706 yards and five touchdowns, with the latter accounting for 425 yards and four scores. Minnesota had multiple chances to win — thanks in part to a horrific call on Clay Matthews Jr. — but rookie kicker Daniel Carlson missed all three field goal attempts, the final one coming from 35 yards out.
In the end, the Vikings and Packers will decide their tiebreaker come Week 12 when the two teams tangle again, this time at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday Night Football.
2. What’s wrong with the Saints?
The New Orleans Saints won, but it sure felt like a loss. New Orleans entered the season as favorites to reach Super Bowl LIII, but after a 48-40 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a nail-biting 21-18 win over the Cleveland Browns, what to make of the Boys in the Bayou?
While New Orleans is 1-1 and only a game behind the Buccaneers alongside the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South, there’s reason for concern. The defense struggled to stop a pop-gun attack in Cleveland, a week after being shredded in the home opener. Additionally, the rushing game has been a shadow of last year’s version, with Alvin Kamara at 75 yards on 21 carries.
If the Saints are going to be the best version of themselves, the defense has to find itself, Kamara has to start churning yardage and the Superdome must become its typical a house of horrors for opponents.
3. Buccaneers looking dangerous early on
Hey, hey, Tampa Bay! The Buccaneers were supposed to be a laughingstock, especially once Jameis Winston was suspended for the first three games of the season. Now? Tampa Bay is 2-0 after impressive, convincing wins over the Saints and Philadelphia Eagles.
Ryan Fitzpatrick isn’t going to continue playing like an MVP, but he doesn’t need to. He has a ton of weapons in Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, DeSean Jackson, Cameron Brate, O.J. Howard and Adam Humphries. If Fitzy can simply get the ball in their hands, the Buccaneers are in good shape.
The next test features the Steelers, who come to Raymond James Stadium winless and desperate. If Tampa Bay can win again, there’s no chance of Winston seeing the field, and that’s just fine by the Buccaneers and their fans.
4. Texans suddenly in rough spot after loss
The Houston Texans need to get their act together. After an understandable loss to the New England Patriots in Week 1, Houston somehow managed to lose in Nashville to the Marcus Mariota-less Tennessee Titans.
The contest was marred by Houston’s poor special teams, a lack of offensive continuity and a defense that couldn’t make the big play late. The result is a 20-17 loss and an 0-2 record, leaving the Texans all alone in the basement of the AFC South.
Suddenly, the division is looking tough. Tennessee found a way to survive Mariota’s injury, the Indianapolis Colts rolled the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field, and the Jacksonville Jaguars trounced the New England Patriots to move to 2-0. If Houston is going to make noise, it’ll have to get off the proverbial mat this upcoming week against the New York Giants in its home opener.
5. Giants look awful in loss to Cowboys
The New York Giants have some real problems on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the hoard of weapons they’ve amassed has done little to make the team more explosive, scoring only 13 points against the Dallas Cowboys as they fell to 0-2.
New York allowed pressure all night on Eli Manning, who was hit repeatedly and sacked six times by a Cowboys front that dominated throughout. Meanwhile, Dak Prescott was the epitome of a game manager, throwing for 160 yards and a touchdown to even Dallas’ record at 1-1.
History lesson
The Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks haven’t combined to finish third and fourth in the NFC West since 2002, the first year of the division’s existence. If things don’t change, it appears that could be the case come December.
Parting shot
The Jacksonville Jaguars have been underrated for months, in this space included. They’ve been overlooked because of Blake Bortles, forgotten to the nation in a stadium more known for its pool than the team that plays on the field.
Against the Patriots, Jacksonville made it perfectly clear that it belongs in the Super Bowl conversation. Bortles was shockingly great, throwing for 377 yards and four touchdowns in a dominant 30-21 win.
With the victory, Jacksonville is 2-0, joining the likes of the Dolphins, Bengals, Chiefs and Broncos as the remaining undefeated in the AFC.
While a long season remains and the Jaguars, like every other team in the league, has to prove its worth on a weekly basis. For now, though, Jacksonville is a viable championship-caliber team, something it hasn’t been in quite some time.