Lionhearted Mahomes Victorious in Detroit

Urbandictionary.com defines lionhearted as:

“When someone has the swagger of a titan and the inner strength of the most fierce species of the animal kingdom: a lion.”

I know of no better word to describe the performance of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes II yesterday against, ironically, the Detroit Lions.

Travis Kelce is always 🔥🔥. What’s it like playing safety on a Hail Mary? Was the hook and ladder planned? And what does he think of Patrick Mahomes and the game winning drive on the road? pic.twitter.com/sGVlFMcmNV — James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) September 29, 2019

His numbers were a far cry from a quarterback who usually delivers so much more. Methinks he has spoiled Chiefs Kingdom a bit. Detroit’s game plan from yesterday’s game will serve as a blueprint for teams planning against the Chiefs for the rest of this season. The Chiefs need to address that probability/eventuality.

Even with his sub-Mahomes (I refuse to use the word subpar) statistics, Mahomes still has not thrown an interception this year. He still threw for over 300 yards, and -as of this writing- is still leading this season’s QB passing touchdown list with ten, albeit tied with the Indianapolis Colts QB Jacoby Brissett and QB Baltimore Ravens Lamar Jackson. He also has a 120.4% passer rating and a 67.9% completion ratio.

Although yesterday’s game against a confident, undefeated Detroit Lions team was hardly his best statistically, it is the greatest game he’s played as a Chief to date. Mahomes not only never quit, he never allowed those around him to quit either. To steal a word from the HOF Chiefs HC Hank Stram, Mahomes never stopped ‘matriculating’ the ball down the field. Drive after drive, he was all about forward progress whether he had to hand it off, pass it, or run it himself. That’s what great quarterbacks do. It’s what Mahomes did.

Xavier Williams is a hero. Not only is it his arm that knocks the ball out, but he scooped it away from the grasping hands of Lions to a spot where Breeland could pick it up. pic.twitter.com/vMhlm15POG — Seth Keysor (@RealMNchiefsfan) September 30, 2019

I am resolute in my belief that Mahomes gained more experience and NFL lessons in this single battle against the tenacious Detroit Lions defense than he did all of last season. The payoff from this experience will be huge come the playoffs, as will the confidence and respect he deservedly earns from his teammates week in and week out.

“The lion does not need the whole world to fear him, only those nearest where he roams.” – A. J. Darkholme, Rise of the Morningstar

Chiefs Kingdom, not only do we have the best quarterback actively playing in the NFL, I daresay we have the greatest leader, too. I’ll get to the things I liked and disliked about yesterday’s ‘great escape’ after I give credit where credit is due.

Yo Chiefs fans… stop fretting about the team. Not every game is perfect. You’re going to have ups and downs each season. Great teams win the down games. The Chiefs did. — Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) September 29, 2019

The Lions played a heckuva football game. In a week when nobody that they had a snowball’s chance in Hades, a week when they were without many key members of their defense, the Detroit Lions flat out balled yesterday.

They had 50 tackles against the Chiefs, three for losses, forced two fumbles which they recovered, and had three quarterback hits on Mahomes. This does not even address their punching the ball out of our player’s hands, particularly the one in the end zone against Chiefs WR Sammy Watkins by Lions CB Justin Coleman.

Imagine executing a game-winning drive perfectly giving the ball to: Darrel Williams x4

DeMarcus Robinson x1

Mecole Hardman x1

Byron Pringle x1

Travis Kelce x1 And with Cam Erving protecting your blindside. No one is stopping Mahomes. — 60 Sent (@ClayWendler) September 29, 2019

Offensively, the Detroit Lions were no less impressive. Led by “General” Matt Stafford, the Lions racked up 447 yards, averaged 6.1 yards per gain, forced the Chiefs to punt twice, and possessed the football for over half of the game (33.54 minutes). Stafford also threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. His passer rating for the game was 118.6% (compared to Mahomes’ 81% rating).

The Detroit Lions came awfully close to beating the Chiefs on Sunday, and they would have gotten away with it too… had it not been for that meddling Mahomes!

How bout those Chiefs! 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/qv7wq28BuT — Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 29, 2019

Things I Liked Sunday

While it is the focus of the whole article, it bears repeating … Patrick Mahomes just does not know the meaning of the word quit, nor will he tolerate it of his teammates. Seeing his performance today, and looking at our losses last season, I firmly believe that we lost none of those games, at all. We just ran out of time.

The Chiefs have recorded a perfect first quarter of the 2019 season even though 75% of those games have been on the road. Head coach Andy Reid believes in this team and in his quarterback, unwaveringly so, and they earn it.

We’ve talked about the next wrinkle. THIS. IS. IT. pic.twitter.com/OEBFm3mQVC — Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 29, 2019

Travis Kelce absolutely loves football (it shows) and just makes clutch catches, smart decisions, and key plays exactly when it’s most needed. CB Bashaud Breeland also had a huge heads up play in grabbing the rock from the bottom of the pile and taking it 100 yards for a touchdown.

GREAT WIN. I’ve been induc into sack nation. More work to do. pic.twitter.com/pQRqraUfvy — Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) September 29, 2019

The inconsistent Chiefs defense forced two fumbles, recovering them both, and registered four sacks. That smack down of Stafford’s final Hail Mary pass by Juan Thornhill was a veteran decision made by the rookie and proved that he’s much more worried about the Chiefs winning than he is in his own statistics. I dig that!

It’s about winning for me…The stats will come later. #ChiefsKingdom 💯 — The_Juan_And_Only (@Juan_Thornhill) September 29, 2019

Things I Disliked Sunday (There Were A Lot)

Chiefs CB Charvarius Ward is getting lit up in the secondary! Teams are constantly targeting him and hitting the jackpot. I like him, but he’s just not yet ready to be a first-string cornerback in the NFL yet.

Ball safety is a thing, Chiefs players! Allowing three forced fumbles in a game is not conducive to team success.

Come on, Harrison Butker, you can’t miss easy field goals. Like fumbles, missed field goals do not help a team’s chances to win games.

LeSean McCoy, while that ladder play from Kelce was beautiful… please stop carrying the ball like a loaf of bread!

I second this 🙋🏾‍♂️ https://t.co/a0Etnb3pPU — Darron Lee (@DLeeMG8) September 29, 2019

Offensive line: you’ve got to do a better job of protecting Mahomes. We kinda like him here in Chiefs Kingdom and dislike seeing him get hit.

In Other AFC Action

Although not Chiefs-related, the vicious helmet-to-helmet hit on Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen by New England Patriots DB Jonathan Jones was bush-league. Although he flagged for it, Jones remained in the game. Methinks if he played for any other team than the Patriots, he would have been ejected.

Ditto for the late hit that Oakland Raiders Vontaze Burfict LB delivered to TE Jack Doyle. Thankfully, the notoriously dirty Burfict was ejected. Both a fine and a suspension are in order. Dirty, unsportsmanlike conduct has no place in the modern NFL. Not only should the NFL send a message, so should the player’s teammates let them know “we don’t tolerate that on our team.”

Chiefly a Conclusion

Look, we did not so much win this game as survived it. There is much the Chiefs need to fix and address after today’s game. No doubt there will be many articles and debates both here at ArrowheadOne, other NFL and Chiefs related websites, and on TV shows such as ESPN and NFL Network. There needs to be. The Chiefs could have lost yesterday’s game had it not been for Patrick “the Lionheart” Mahomes.

Worthless Award: we present the “Yogi Berra Award” to Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid… who wins this one for reminding Chiefs Kingdom that “Not all of Mozart’s paintings were perfect” quote-unquote. Classic Andy!

Michael Travis Rose — ArrowheadOne

See you at noon today for Phillip Maxwell’s piece,

“Chiefs: You Don’t Tug on Superman’s Cape”

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