After a couple of wonky weeks to open the season, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs offense rolled over a good Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense in Sunday night's 41-31 victory.
Mahomes and the Chiefs offense took whatever they wanted, racking up 417 total yards with 189 rushing yards and two ground TDs, while the QB put up 249 passing yards and three more touchdowns with one interception.
The former MVP quarterback was a magician out of the gate, tossing sidearm throws and converting scrambles into connections for chunk gains. Everything seemed easy.
"The NFL hasn't seen anything like Mahomes -- I promise you that," tight end Travis Kelce said after the victory. "You saw it today -- he's the Houdini of our era. The guy just finds ways to make plays throughout the game -- big-time third down, big-time goal line plays [and] just willing our team to the end zone -- willing our team to win. That's our ultimate leader, man."
In the second quarter, Mahomes did his best magic act on a 2-yard touchdown toss to Clyde Edwards-Helaire. The quarterback was flushed to the right. He approached the sideline and mashed the B button, spinning past Pro Bowl linebacker Devin White. As two more Bucs defenders converged, he flipped a toss to CEH for the score.
It was the sort of play that reminded the world Mahomes remains in a different class.
"I was able to use my speed, well a little bit of speed, to get around the edge there," he said, describing the play. "And then I was going to run for it, and they kind of flew around, and then I realized I wasn't going to make it, and I saw Clyde, so I just kind of flicked it up to him. When I spun -- I kind of, I think the spin made me kind of decide to throw it again because I knew once I spun that I wasn't going to have the speed to get in (the end zone). Before that, I was thinking about getting to the pylon, but once I spun, I realized that Clyde was open."
Perhaps more impressive than the spin-o-rama was how easily the Chiefs offense moved through a Tampa D that had been slamming the door on opponents, entering the week as the No. 1 scoring defense.
Sunday night marked the seventh time Mahomes has faced the No. 1 scoring defense in his career. K.C. is 6-1 in those contests and has scored 27-plus points in five of seven. Mahomes has 18 total TDs (15 pass, 3 rush) against No. 1 defenses.
For the quarterback, Houdini-like plays aren't meant to be flashy. It's just what's needed to get the job done.
"I just try to win, man," Mahomes said. "At the end of the day that's what I try to do. It's not like I'm planning these things where I'm throwing sidearm or whatever it is, spinning, running around. I always say, I'm a competitor, I'm going to find whatever way I can do to make our team have success. Today was a spin and a little, I don't know, a basketball shot that ended up a touchdown."
