In 2006, Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to a 12-4 record despite a receiving corps where his top targets were Reche Caldwell, Troy Brown and Doug Gabriel. Despite being preseason favorites, his team fell short of the Super Bowl, necessitating the arrival of Randy Moss months later and the advent of a historic offense.
If 2023’s season open is any indication, Patrick Mahomes may have reached his “Brady in ’06” stage.
Without Travis Kelce in the lineup due to injury and missing his leading wideouts from both the 2021 (Tyreek Hill) and 2022 (JuJu Smith-Schuster) seasons, Mahomes was tasked with elevating a cast of character actors into starring roles. He targeted players like Justin Watson, Rashee Rice and Blake Bell. He scrambled for a team-high 45 rushing yards — as many as his top two tailbacks combined — in the face of a stout pass rush. He had multiple drives inside the Detroit 25-yard line derailed by drops on third down.
He started his season 0-1 on the strength of a 21-20 home loss to the Detroit Lions.
This was in no way, shape or form Mahomes’ fault. The fact this game came down to the final minute was a testament to his talent.
At his best, Mahomes shined as the star in the middle of a solar system filled solely by asteroids and dwarf planets. It was a display of wizardry most 17th century scholars would have chalked up to heresy. On one second quarter drive, Mahomes targeted these players, in order:
- Rashee Rice
- Richie James
- Rice
- Noah Gray
- Marquez Valdes-Scantling
- Justin Watson
- Blake Bell
He completed six of seven passes for 98 yards (the pass to Gray didn’t count due to penalty) and a touchdown. That’s witchcraft.
That list of names undersells just how frustrating his wide receivers were. Mahomes’ scrambles were partially a function of Aidan Hutchinson’s pressures, but more directly related to his wideouts’ ability to create space against Detroit’s rebuilt secondary. Skyy Moore only got open on broken plays and couldn’t corral tough catches. Kadarius Toney was responsible for negative points.
.@NFL, meet @brianbb_1 #DETvsKC | 🎥 NBC pic.twitter.com/6L7m6SZSrF
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) September 8, 2023
One quarter later, Moore and Toney teamed up to so thoroughly botch a mesh route over the middle that it left Mahomes making this face as the field goal unit marched onto the field.
Patrick Mahomes may never throw to Kadarius Toney again pic.twitter.com/oKKePDaGXT
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 8, 2023
With the chance to move the Chiefs into field goal range with fewer than three minutes to play in a 21-20 game, Toney also did this.
Good god.
There was no reliable standby when Mahomes needed a big play. The reigning MVP cycled through his reads and rarely landed on his first option. With the game on the line, he lobbed up prayers to wide receivers who were never more than an elbow’s length away from someone in Honolulu Blue and white. Or they were Kadarius Toney. Either way, the outcome was the same.
This is untenable. Without help, it could be a frustrating tribute to a team that became one of Mahomes’ biggest rivals early in his career.
The Patriots didn’t get Brady options in ’06 and his season ended in disappointment. Moss came the next year and New England scored more points than all but one other team in NFL history. Sure, that season ended badly as well (in a Super Bowl defeat), but at least it was fun to watch.
The Chiefs, conversely, were not fun on Thursday night. They were a one man show, and while Kelce’s return will boost that star power, it’s clear Kansas City needs more. There could be a host of veteran wideout options who could fit the bill before October’s trade deadline, whether that’s an obvious candidate like Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans or a feasibly less available player like Los Angeles Rams star Cooper Kupp (hey, if the Rams are actually gonna rebuild, it might have to happen).
Mahomes did everything he could to will his team to victory Thursday night. Instead, his drives were cut short by miscommunications and drops. His offense played with all the cohesion of a junior high garage band. The Chiefs didn’t get to celebrate their Super Bowl 57 banner for long before it turned into the launchpad for a rare cycle of Detroit Lions hype. The biggest reason for that is, well, the guys around the reigning MVP thoroughly stunk.
We’ll have to see if Kelce can fix things or if more drastic measures have to be taken. One thing’s for certain; the team we saw Thursday night has no chance of repeating as world champions without significant improvement.