Patrick Mahomes has lit the NFL world on fire through four weeks.
The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback has thrown for 14 touchdowns, averaged 300 passing yards per game, a 126.5 passer rating and has zero turnovers.
After Monday night's stirring come-from-behind victory in Denver, Mahomes will pilot the NFL's top scoring offense against the league's stingiest defense when K.C. hosts the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Despite boasting a shut-down defense, Jags coach Doug Marrone knows his team will have a lot on its plate facing Mahomes.
"Right now, he is playing better than any quarterback has ever played. He is an MVP quarterback," the coach said Wednesday. "The question is what he can't do. I don't know. I don't think words can really put in perspective how great he is playing. That is really all there is to it."
Marrone's assessment of Mahomes' MVP play meshes with the appraisal from Around The NFL's Chris Wesseling, who placed the signal-caller atop his quarter-mark candidates.
The Jags head into Sunday with the stickiest of cornerbacks and a pass rush that rivals the best in the NFL. Pressuring Mahomes, however, won't necessarily throw him. The K.C. QB has thrown three TDs without an INT for a 101.1 passer rating under pressure this season (eighth in NFL). He will face a Jaguars defense pressuring quarterbacks on 31.4 percent of their dropbacks this season (fourth-highest in NFL), per NFL Research.
"He gives you challenges every which way whether you put him in the pocket [or not]," Marrone said of Mahomes. "He can make every throw. He makes quick decisions. You get him out of the pocket and he can extend plays. He is athletic enough to run and run for a long way and take it to the house. He has great command, and he has great weapons around him and an outstanding offensive line. Right now, offensively, what you're seeing is that it's kind of unbelievable, which is going to be a great challenge. We have our hands full."
With Jalen Ramsey, A.J. Bouye, Calais Campbell, Yannick Ngakoue, Telvin Smith and Myles Jack going up against Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Kareem Hunt and the rest of the Chiefs' playmakers, Sunday's battle in Kansas City will be appointment viewing.
No star will shine brighter than Mahomes, however, if he's able to thwart a dominant Jags defense and keep his turnover total to zero.
"You are talking about someone that is a combination of a lot of the greatest players that ever played that position with the way he is playing. That's just on tape," Marrone said of the QB.
