Make a place for Patrick Mahomes in the Olympus of North American sports. Pull him a chair next to Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Mohammed Ali, Serena Williams, Tiger Woods and so many others. The quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs He was already in the elite of American football. After his performance on Sunday, that specter was too small for him.
Mahomes was the main architect in the conquest of the Super Bowl LVIII by the Chiefs. As in the previous two titles, he took the honors of the best player of the match (MVP). It’s just the third player in history in achieving that achievement, behind Tom Brady (five times) and Joe Montana, with whom he was equal. In addition, he became the first to win three championship rings at the age of 28. From now on, eyes are on whether he can surpass Brady not only in titles (he has seven), but in consideration as the best in history. The debate began as soon as the match ended, and there are many who predict that it will.
In the 25-22 overtime victory against the San Francisco 49ers, Mahomes brought out a good part of his repertoire. He finished with 333 yards passing, two touchdowns, one interception and even led his team in rushing yards, with 66 on nine carries. His greatness, however, far exceeds the metallic coldness of his trophies and the testimonial relativism of statistics. Mahomes is a prodigy who combines athletic ability, talent, game reading, winning mentality, leadership and discipline in one person. Mahomes is a quarterback who breaks the mold. There was never anyone like him.
During the almost 75 minutes that the grand final lasted, Mahomes displayed his entire repertoire of virtues. The most impressive: his ability to recover from an adverse start, take control of the game and lead his team, first to equalize at the end and then to win the game in extra time. He had done the same thing four years ago, against the same rival and in the same circumstance, when he turned around a 20-10 deficit to win his first Super Bowl, at only 24 years old and in only his third season in the NFL, his second. as owner. At Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, he did it again. He started 10-0 down, kept his team in the game without playing well and, towards the end, managed two impressive series.
The first, when there were 1m53s left to close and with a cool mind he took his team within field goal range to send the game to overtime. The second and most important, the one that gave him the victory, which included two runs by the quarterback, one on fourth down (if he failed, San Francisco won), and another for 19 yards, in addition to the winning pass to Mecole Hardman in a play identical to the last touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles a year ago.
The ability to run with the ball in his hands is one of his distinctive characteristics. However, unlike other quarterbacks who have the same gift, when he does it it is not because of a pre-established play for him to carry, but rather he does it purely on instinct. His size (1.88m, 100kg) helps exploit this dimension of his game. On Sunday he was the leading rusher on his team.
In the second half, which began by throwing an interception, Mahomes managed to find his main partner, tight end Travis Kelce. After completing just one pass for one yard in the first half, they ended up teaming up for 93 yards on nine passes. Every time he was in trouble, Mahomes trusted Kelce and he responded.
Another of his qualities is to throw passes with maximum precision from any position, breaking with all the manuals referring to the mechanics of throwing. In movement, running to one side and throwing in the opposite direction, without looking, standing on the right leg, the left, even throwing from a horizontal position almost parallel to the ground. Against the 49ers he tried one of them that he ultimately did not complete, but it is worth taking a look at YouTube to appreciate the magic of it.
Far from being an innate virtue, this responds to a job he has done since he was in fourth grade with his personal trainer, Bobby Stroupe. “Patrick can keep his head perfectly straight, like an owl, and still visualize what is happening around him and manipulate his body at the same time thanks to the mobility he has in his spine,” Stroupe explained in the Quarterback series, which can be seen on Netflix. Another property acquired from the hand of Stroupe is elasticity. Just as he is elusive, he also tends to put his physicality at risk. It is common to see it cushion blows with notable plasticity. He recently uploaded a video to his social media showing how he stretched and how he worked on strengthening his back. In his entire professional career, Mahomes only missed two games due to injury.
Having played baseball in his adolescence also contributed to varying his offensive arsenal, although he finally decided on American football, contradicting the steps of his father Pat, a renowned pitcher for 11 seasons in the major leagues of baseball (MLB).
When the 49ers won the toss and chose to receive the ball in overtime (mistake for not knowing the rules that differ from those of the regular season?), leaving Mahomes the chance to close the game, everyone suspected what the outcome would be. It did not disappoint. Once again he is at the top. He turned Kansas City into a dynasty, with three titles and four Super Bowls in five years. He ranked among the best. And he still has a long way to go.
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