Patrick Mahomes wants better start for Chiefs, more Week 1 magic when Ravens visit Thursday night
Sports
Patrick Mahomes is chief among them
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs insist that they are not thinking about last year’s opener against Detroit, when they celebrated their latest Super Bowl triumph with a flag-raising ceremony and were promptly beaten by the Lions.
Patrick Mahomes is chief among them.
The three-time Super Bowl MVP had by far the worst Week 1 performance of his career that night, completing barely more than 50% of his passes for just 226 yards with his fewest touchdown passes (two) and first interception in six season openers.
Makes sense that Mahomes has tried to wash away his memory of the Lions with the Ravens awaiting him Thursday night.
“I don’t think last year’s too much on your mind,” Mahomes said. “You’re so focused on trying to get better, and we’re playing the best of the best Week 1. We’re going to see where we’re at. We’re going to have to go out there and play our best football early in the season. All we can do is go out there and be our best.”
That is more the norm for Mahomes in Week 1 — the best of his best — and it is an exceedingly high bar. He had never lost a season opener until running into Detroit, winning his first five as the starting quarterback in Kansas City. He had completed at least 75% of his passes in four of those games, averaged 308 yards and thrown for 18 TD passes without a pick.
He was just 21 of 39 for 226 yards in the 21-20 loss to the Lions.
“You don’t want to get pushed around. I think that’s the biggest thing,” Mahomes said of Week 1 games, and playing the Ravens in particular. “Whenever you play teams like this, you want to make sure you match their physicality. We’re fast, and we’ve got guys that run around, but we pride ourselves on being physical as well, so it’s going to be a great challenge, man.”
Something else that Mahomes tries not to think about: his place in history.
He’s completed more passes for more yards and more touchdown passes than any quarterback in NFL history though 96 starts, and every game he seems to climb another historical chart.
