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The career of Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has started magically. It seems that he’s accomplishing new feats and earning new accolades each and every game. The former league and Super Bowl MVP has been open about his desire to improve overall as an NFL quarterback. He wants to reach the level of mastery achieved by the all-time greats at his position.
Mahomes made headlines over the summer while as a guest on Lebron James’ HBO show “The Shop” for openly discussing his desire to better read NFL defenses. The former Texas Tech star had another stellar performance during last Thursday’s opening night victory over the Texans appeared to have taken his game a step further. Mahomes explained his thoughts and self-criticism on the game during Wednesday’s press conference.
“Yeah, I think it was just more reading the feel of the game. The defense was doing a great job of getting stops,” said Mahomes. “We had kind of gotten up on them early, and instead of trying to force that deep shot maybe, I just used the guys underneath and moved the ball down the field and scored. There’s going to be times here and there where I need to take that deep shot. There were a couple in the game that I missed, one to Tyreek (Hill) early in the game. We ended up getting the first down but maybe a chance to hit him on a big play. Then the one to (Travis) Kelce down the sideline, where I threw the check down just a little too early. There were times where I could’ve taken that shot and I just need to know when and where to do it and try not to miss them whenever I get the opportunity.”
One of Mahomes’ main targets during the victory was wide receiver Sammy Watkins who hauled in seven catches for 82 yards and a touchdown. Watkins was less critical on his quarterback’s performance and instead focused on the essential intangibles.
“Of course, I think he’s moving as the offense is, when he’s getting the ball in his hands, you know teams are going to blitz us more,” Watkins said. “I think he’s just going to continue to get better. I think that coaches have probably been working on him the whole camp with getting a ball out of his hands pretty quick, and he’s a guy that he knows the game, he knows the coverages and he knows where to go with the ball. So, if he sees something open, why not just throw it and get the ball off him. And you know Pat loves the big plays, and I just think he’s growing up and being that elite quarterback is saying, like, ‘huh, let me just check it down and move to the next play’ and that’s a special guy we have on our team.”
The Chiefs are already thrilled with the production of Mahones since he first entered the league. The notion that he feels there is still more growth on the horizon, that he can make better decisions with the football, is a scary picture for the rest of the league.
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