Patrick Mahomes saved the Chiefs with big plays vs. Panthers
By Ian Wharton
Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes rallied the Chiefs in a Week 9 win against Carolina. We have his full, weekly report card and analysis.
One of the best matchups of Week 9 was the Kansas City Chiefs’ 33-31 win against the Carolina Panthers. Both Patrick Mahomes and Teddy Bridgewater performed at high levels to give an entertaining peek at where the NFL’s at with spread offenses taking over. 94 passes were attempted between the two, and Mahomes emerged after creating numerous big plays.
Throughout the 2020 season we’ll be tracking and grading quarterback Patrick Mahomes as we start chronicling one of the most talented passers of all time. The mesmerizing star is extremely unique with his intelligence, playmaking, flair and incredible arm talents. Even at 25 years old it’s clear we have the opportunity to see a full career of greatness.
Mahomes’ gaudy numbers were well-earned as Panthers edge-rusher Brian Burns terrorized him throughout the game. Mahomes finished with 30 completions on 45 attempts for 372 yards and four scores. He wasn’t perfect but he overcame significant factors to earn the comeback win.
We’re looking beyond the stat sheet to analyze Mahomes this season. I’ve been charting catchable passes for the last six years for collegiate quarterback prospects, and the results have brought solid baselines in key areas of accuracy to project NFL success.
Mahomes benefitted from this, and the project is partially why I was so high on him as a prospect. We’ll be grading him on playmaking, decision-making, accuracy, efficiency, and awareness in addition to tracking his directional and situational passing effectiveness.
Playmaking: A-
We had a classic Mahomes game this week against the Panthers. Carolina’s secondary has been effective because of their ability to buy time for their pass rush, and they suffocate passing windows with numbers. Having rangy linebackers and using two safeties in coverage destroy potential weak spots that designed plays can exploit.
That’s where a playmaker like Mahomes comes in helpful over a less-gifted passer. Mahomes consistently escaped pressure and the pocket to create space for himself and his targets. Sometimes it was just subtle movement within the pocket, but he also had obvious examples like the brilliant decision to draw the defense to him and away from Travis Kelce in the clip below.
He understands the way he holds defenders on a string whenever he moves like few others can. He’s the most dangerous passer in the league from any platform, in a way that only Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson can compare on any given week. Defenders crash on him because they can’t afford for that ball to come out of his hands.
Decision-Making: A
This was a fantastic week to look at elite decision-making from Mahomes. Despite being pressured on 17 of his pass attempts beyond the line of scrimmage, Mahomes was sacked just once and avoided an interceptable throw. He wasn’t extremely consistent with his mechanics and accuracy but the mindset was there.
He had to create big plays in the second half, and he responded with several huge chunk throws starting in the mid-third quarter. Attacking downfield windows was a risky but necessary strategy because the Chiefs couldn’t finish drives. Being more aggressive led to blown coverages as well.
The 23-yard throw on the clip above is a perfect example of great decision-making, efficiency and awareness all in one. Mahomes knew he’d get walloped but had to wait for Kelce to emerge behind the zone coverage. He delivered a decent ball that converted a deep crossing route, proving to be crucial on that drive.
Accuracy: B+
Mahomes lost two accurate passes to drops, and another three were thrown away under pressure. The rest of his passing chart is overall good but we saw uncharacteristic misses that cost the Chiefs scoring opportunities. Weighing a few misses with the huge clutch throws Mahomes made is still a net positive though.
He missed Tyreek Hill on a deep pass in the second-quarter, and three of his four intermediate attempts in the entire game came in the first-half. He had to improve in the second-half to earn a win. Missing a total of five throws beyond 11 yards in one-half put the Chiefs in a hole once again.
Things turned around quickly starting with their second drive of the third quarter. The 44-yard strike to Kelce down the right side of the field on third down was the pivotal part of how this game unfolded. Mahomes scrambled up into the pocket to buy some time, and delivered a bullet to Kelce.
With a whopping efficiency of 9-of-10 and three touchdowns from outside of the pocket, Mahomes dominated this game on the margins. Overvaluing a few misses that don’t normally plague him isn’t fair, but he’s docked somewhat because he’s shown near-perfect accuracy on similar passes even this season.
Efficiency: A-
On top of stacking impressive numbers outside of the pocket, Mahomes was ridiculously good at handling pressure. His one sack was costly since it took the Chiefs out of field goal range, but he didn’t let that sack stack despite Burns leading the charge into the backfield all game long. Lesser quarterbacks would’ve been ruined.
He was accurate on 13-of-17 pressured throws, including three touchdowns to the right side of the field. His dominance against pressure has become a signature and key skill for his game, and why the Chiefs are impossible to defend.
Mahomes also tallied eight catchable passes on 10 third downs, though both of his misses were on third and long situations on attempts beyond the markers. Those are low-percentage attempts but he had opportunities to convert with better throws. This is another reason his accuracy grade wasn’t as high as other grades.
Awareness: B+
It’s hard to not hold this five-yard sack against him considering how long Mahomes held the ball and the fact they missed the ensuing field goal. Kansas City nearly lost this game, and another field goal would’ve forced the Panthers to need a touchdown to win and not be able to tie. The process matters even when the results weren’t affected.
This was otherwise almost flawless. Mahomes continually felt the pressure and unloaded the ball in proper time to avoid hits and turnover-worthy throws. His pre-snap judgment improved as the game progressed and led to massive second-half success.
The Panthers never had an answer after Mahomes countered their drop-seven coverage. He simply dealt with the pressure better and the offense became more vertical as they realized they had to force plays into existence.