Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has faced pressure in the pocket throughout the season and has fallen victim to numerous sacks. This Sunday, he faces another aggressive defense with pass-rushing superstar Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns.
Mahomes shared his thoughts on Garrett and the Browns defense during Wednesday’s conversation with reporters in his weekly press conference.
“I think you have to prepare for it as an entire offense. You have to give him (Browns DE Myles Garrett) different looks. You can’t let him just pass rush over and over again. I mean, he’s – he won Defensive Player of the Year for a reason, man.” said Mahomes. “He’s going to win a lot of those matchups, and so we’ll throw him changeups, we’ll throw him different pitches that he can hopefully keep his mind racing, but at the end of the day, he’s going to make plays happen. When he starts to win reps or win certain plays, you have to not make them negative plays, get rid of the football, even if that’s throwing it away, and live to play another play.”
Garrett has gotten plenty of attention from offenses over the years for understandable reasons as he continues his torrid play. His teammates on defense have earned a reputation for great play over the years, and Mahomes was sure to highlight them as well.
“They have a lot of great players, I think. You look at the cornerback position in (Browns CB) Denzel Ward – the linebacker position, they’re flying around – safeties, same as well, and then obviously the defensive line. Then, (Browns Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Jim) Schwartz does a great job of mixing up coverages (and) bringing pressure when it’s necessary and then dropping into zone and man coverage when it’s necessary.” said Mahomes. “It’s a really good team. I mean, they were – last year, they have a lot of the same players from last year’s defense that was like number one in the league. It’s a great team with a lot of pride that’s going to be coming (and) playing hard, especially at home, and we understand that it’s going to be a great challenge. We’re going to have to play our best football to win.”
The Chiefs will play another hungry team on the road, trying to pull off an upset and salvage a disappointing season. A game of this nature occurred a few weeks ago against the Carolina Panthers and Las Vegas Raiders as each contest came down to the final play.