How much running did Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes do Sunday? Lots (and for his life)
Patrick Mahomes entered Super Bowl LV bidding to become the third player in NFL history to win successive Super Bowl MVP awards.
Instead, Mahomes had one of the roughest games of his NFL career in a 31-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The MVP award went to Tom Brady, who won his seventh Super Bowl trophy and collected his fifth MVP award (the award should probably just be named for Brady at this point).
Mahomes’ evening ended on an interception in the end zone by Devin White. That left Mahomes’ final numbers 26 of 49 for 270 yards with two interceptions, no touchdowns and a 52.3 passer rating — the lowest of his career.
Before Sunday, the Chiefs hadn’t lost a game in which Mahomes had started by more than one score. Their eight-point loss to the Raiders earlier this year was the greatest margin of defeat of his pro career.
“It’s the worst I’ve been beaten in a long time,” Mahomes said.
The last time a Mahomes-quarterbacked team lost by more than one score was Nov 19, 2016. That was while he was playing for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders lost to Iowa State 66-10.
The Chiefs’ quarterback owns these numbers and will wear this loss. But there was plenty more to this performance. It’s possible Mahomes scrambled for 500 yards Sunday night — 497, according to Next Gen Stats. The Chiefs’ offensive line, rocked by injuries, was no match for the Buccaneers’ pass rush.
Mahomes was sacked three times. A less mobile quarterback would have gone down much more often. He’s among the best in the game’s history at eluding pressure and finding open receivers.
But the Bucs excelled on the back end, too. While Mahomes was scrambling, his receivers were covered by Tampa defensive backs and linebackers who weren’t going be burned for a second time.
In a 27-24 loss to the Chiefs during the regular season, the Bucs were burned as Mahomes passed for 462 yards, 269 going to Tyreek Hill. Hill constantly got behind the Bucs’ defenders that afternoon.
That didn’t happen Sunday. Also courtesy of Next Gen Stats: Mahomes went 1 for 10 (and threw both of his interceptions) when throwing into tight windows.
“We weren’t all on the same page,” Mahomes said.
That is, the Chiefs’ offensive line didn’t do its job and the wide receivers weren’t where Mahomes expected them to be. And Mahomes said he held the ball too long at times.
The Buccaneers took away the spots were Mahomes likes to operate, the deep middle and the sidelines. The Chiefs excel at yards after the catch, and there was little of that Sunday.
“Especially 87 and 10,” Bucs cornerback Carlton Davis said of Kelce and Hill. “They’re guys who take advantage of yards after the catch and we made it our job to limit them, keep them in front of us.”
Through three quarters, with the Buccaneers comfortably ahead, Mahomes’ longest completion had been 14 yards to Hill.
Mahomes said he didn’t believe the game was lost until he threw his final interception, but this wasn’t like last year’s Super Bowl, when the Chiefs trailed the San Francisco 49ers 20-10 midway through the fourth quarter but rallied to win.
Over the final seven minutes of last February’s championship game against the 49ers, the Chiefs scored three late touchdowns, two on passes by Mahomes, and roared to their first Super Bowl victory in 50 years.
No, there was no coming back this time.
“They were just better than us today,” Mahomes said.
This story was originally published February 7, 2021 at 10:40 PM.