Patrick Mahomes overcomes blitz to deliver win against Broncos

Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes overcame constant pressure to beat the Denver Broncos. We have his report card and analysis.

The Kansas City Chiefs moved to 11-1 and are the favorite to land the league’s top seed after beating the Denver Broncos and seeing the Pittsburgh Steelers fall in Week 13.

The Chiefs’ 22-16 win was closer than anticipated but featured a strong performance from Patrick Mahomes and the passing game, and the defense stepped up to limit the feisty Broncos. These divisional foes always engage in tough battles and this didn’t disappoint.

We’ve been focusing on Mahomes’ historic MVP-push in 2020 each week, breaking down every throw and decision. His 25-of-40 for 318 yards and one touchdown may not have been the flashiest performance yet but he overcame an excellent defensive strategy from Vic Fangio and the Broncos. It would be stunning if Mahomes didn’t win the MVP Award after continually playing well.

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

This was the perfect recipe for Mahomes to pull out his magician mode. He’s become a master of keeping the explosive creator within control until he absolutely needs it. This development has protected his body from unnecessary hits and keeps the offense moving even if some of the explosive plays aren’t quite as often.

Make no mistake, the offense is extremely healthy with this version of Mahomes. Denver held the run game to limited effectiveness, jarred out four should-be catches, and pressured Mahomes throughout the game. Yet the star quarterback overcame a slow start and wave of defenders to find openings.

This unstoppable strategy of running into open space and then throwing crossbody has devastated defenses this year. There seems to always be a wide open receiver that is waiting for Mahomes’ awkward pass, and it’s because he draws the attention away from them. Linebackers are stuck between a bad and worse position every time he goes for this.

Even when the defense had the right reaction and was in position, Mahomes’ pocket movement bought enough time for his target to pass between zone defenders or beat man coverage. His touchdown toss to Travis Kelce at the end of the third quarter proved to be the winning score, and was an example of unbeatable playmaking and accuracy.

Denver did well to limit these chances but the only way to beat Mahomes is finish pressures with sacks and turn batted balls into turnovers. It’s almost impossible this season, but Denver had the right formula.

Decision-Making: A-

The first quarter had the Chiefs’ offense looking completely lost. Two batted balls stalled early drives, and it was clear the offensive line was overmatched by the upfield speed of the Broncos front seven. Denver is able to rely on their secondary to hold their own effectively and then attack with with pass rushers and the Chiefs don’t have the blockers to handle it this season.

Most quarterbacks would crumble under this duress. Of Mahomes’ 40 attempts, zero were clear throwaways, and he took just one sack. A whopping 17 passes were attempted under pressure, and six passes were behind the line of scrimmage.

Despite half his passes that traveled past the line of scrimmage being pressured, Mahomes avoided a turnover-worthy throw and more than the one coverage sack.

He appropriately attacked tight windows and was masterful at reading short and intermediate throws. His accuracy wasn’t always good, but his passing chart showed smart distribution between levels. He kept the defense off-balance with the occasional deep ball.

Accuracy: B

A total of three passes were batted down, and five passes from 0-10 yards were inaccurate as Mahomes’ throws scattered around from the effects of pressure. That’s highly uncharacteristic of Mahomes. His accuracy was saved by several great throws made outside of the pocket on short attempts and near-perfect performance on 11-19 throws.

play action rollout from Ian Wharton on Vimeo.

Most passers would utterly fail in this environment of pressure, active hands and excellent coverage. A.J. Bouye was sticky on his assignments, and the second-level of the Broncos’ defense were able to stifle some of the quick-hitters over the middle that the offense relies upon.

Five of his misses also came at  the 20-plus range. Just one was in the intermediate range. His absolute dominance from 11-19 yards sparked the offense to 17 points between the second and third quarter and saved the game.

Efficiency: B

His play on conversion downs was solid but unspectacular. He was accurate on five-of-eight third down throws and six were beyond the markers. One of his misses was on a 3rd-and-26 attempt to Kelce and he was barely off the mark.

His misses going deep were the biggest question mark besides his two errant throws on third and short. His lone catchable ball was incorrectly ruled a drop after gravity made its insane showing on the pass to Tyreek Hill.

The team’s first trip to the red zone also should’ve been handled better. Play-calling may have been out of Mahomes’ hands but the third-down decision to hand the ball off on a sweep to Hill cost the team the chance to go for it on fourth down from the one-yard line.

Awareness: A-

Mahomes took one bad sack, but was otherwise having to use his full toolbox of tricks to win this game. Sometimes he coasts by using his brain as the catalyst to success and other times he relies on physical traits. Then there are plays like this one where he has to unleash his powers to convert what seemed like an easy pass.

It’s fun to see Mahomes have to try his best and then succeed. He’s so talented and smart that it almost appears he can coast and still create insane highlights. Denver challenged him and lost, but was able to frustrate the offense and force a tight game.

Few teams have the personnel and defensive minds to replicate Denver’s approach but this will be a game that gets attention when the Chiefs are in the playoffs. Mahomes won this round but must continue to be sharp all-around to go all the way.