With Patrick Mahomes dominating the NFL and taking over from Tom Brady, talkSPORT takes a holiday look at his 12 most important life moments…
Much like kids on Christmas Eve, NFL teams are so keen to unwrap their gifts these days that quarterbacks are thrown in at the deep end.
Happy Holidays
With Patrick Mahomes in action on Christmas Day when the Chiefs face the Steelers on Netflix, talkSPORT are taking a look at the stories that have shaped the face of the league
Three of the first five passers taken in this year’s Draft – Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Bo Nix – started in Week 1, while only injury prevented JJ McCarthy from joining them.
But back when Mahomes was selected with the No. 10 pick in 2017, Michael Penix Jr.’s situation of sitting behind an incumbent was the norm.
Andy Reid’s Chiefs were in safe hands at quarterback with Alex Smith at the helm, meaning the future MVP would have to wait until Week 17 to make his first start with a playoff spot already in the bag.
A relatively meaningless dead rubber against the Denver Broncos ended up being a decisive moment in Mahomes’ life, and NFL history.
Making your debut against what was at the time the league’s No. 2 defense would have been a daunting prospect for many.
But Mahomes had talent, the benefit of watching a top pro like Smith up close, and one of the great offensive minds of all-time on his side.
He went 22-35 for 284 yards with one interception – solid numbers that don’t exactly jump off the page.
What was on display was glimpses of the elusiveness and arm strength that we now take for granted.
One fourth-quarter play saw Mahomes take a snap from his own 32-yard line, escape a collapsing pocket, and throw out of a tackle from the 16 to find Sammy Watkins in the middle of three defenders for a first down.
It was exactly the kind of magic that caught Reid’s eye in college – one that many commentators thought he would struggle to pull off at the highest level.
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Mahomes played so well that he was taken out of the game in the fourth quarter with the Chiefs leading 24-10.
The Broncos scored twice to level and that is when Mahomes revealed what is probably his greatest trait – thriving under pressure.
He took over with 2:45 to go and led the Chiefs into range for a game-winning field goal, just as he has done countless times since.
The nature of Mahomes’ composed performance surprised many viewers at the time.
But Travis Kelce already knew what was coming having watched his teammate torment the Chiefs’ talented defense all season.
“The s**t he was doing in those practices was mind-blowing,” he told the Pardon My Take podcast. “He had no, like, filter. He was just out there like, ‘Oh this doesn’t matter. I could just throw it over here.’
“The defense is just demoralized in practice. They’re like, ‘What the f***, this kid’s dicing us up right now.'”
Smith was traded to the Washington Commanders over the offseason after losing in the wildcard round and unfortunately later suffered a brutal leg injury that derailed a stellar career.
Mahomes took over as starter and, three Super Bowls later, is the best quarterback currently playing the game.
Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson have their fans, but the true competition is between Mahomes and Brady for GOAT status.
A three-peat would strengthen the former’s case and will give him plenty of motivation ahead of a bumper festive schedule.
Mahomes takes on the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans before a primetime Christmas Day showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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