The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers are doing battle in the Bay. The first matchup between these franchises since their memorable Super Bowl contest won by the Chiefs 31-20 with 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
In the game, Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes showed the wizardry that’s become synonymous with him weekly. His ability to extend plays with his arm and legs has become a staple of what the Chiefs do offensively. He does it so much it’s become something other coaches around the league talk about prior to facing him.
This week Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan was raving about the magician Mahomes and his ability to improvise when the play breaks down. As his team hopes to avenge that SB loss from a few seasons ago, Shanny had this to say about “Mr Ketchup On Errthang.”
“Just because you don’t ever see people play like that really. There’s not many people in the history of football as good as him. Reminds me of Hall of Fame QB John Elway a ton watching him. Just how he’s a top thrower on the planet and he can move. He’s not always doing it just with a flat-out 40, just running away from people, but the way he feels space and can create time and as he does it, his vision down the field with that arm talent is tough to deal with.”
Mahomes has made a living breaking the hearts of defenses with pocket manipulation, underrated elusiveness and rocket arm capable of making any throw needed.
Kyle Shanahan said Mahomes can "feel space and create time."https://t.co/mVAo5Hy38M pic.twitter.com/khap7OZKJI
— 📽️ Red Tribe Cinema (@ClayWendler) October 21, 2022
Peyton Manning Shared Same Sentiments In 2019:
Shanahan isn’t the only highly-respected football guy to say Mahomes reminds him of the former Stanford Cardinals and Denver Broncos legend. During a 2019 appearance on Peter King’s podcast, Manning was asked about his breakdown of quarterbacks on his show on ESPN Plus called “Detail.” With 2019 being the season after Mahomes won MVP in his first year as a starter, tossing 50 touchdowns, Manning raved to King about the young quarterback’s skill set.
“I mean, some of the throws that he’s making, I just don’t think anybody has seen the throws before. Whether it’s kind of the no-look throws. Sort of the ability to spring left and throw back to the right, he’s got a little John Elway to him. Elway was kinda famous for that. I mean, the Broncos actually started designing plays to sprint left and throw back right. Mahomes is still improvising, but what I like about him is that he’s taking coaching. Andy Reid is gonna coach the stew out of him, I like that for him and his future.”
Strength vs. strength: Patrick Mahomes leads the NFL with 14 touchdowns on throws 20+ yards downfield this season, including playoffs (5 more than anyone else). The 49ers have allowed an NFL-low 13 completions on those deep passes this year.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 29, 2020
Manning was onto something in 2019, as since then Mahomes has also won a Super Bowl, Super Bowl MVP. Also, since he’s been the starter in K.C. they’ve hosted every AFC Championship Game at raucous Arrowhead Stadium, winning two and losing two in overtime.
Mahomes Prepared Another Tough Defensive Challenge:
After facing the Bills and their No. 1 rated defense in the NFL in last week’s 24-20 home loss, Mahomes said he was ready to face the gritty Niners, who haven’t forgotten how they felt leaving the Super Bowl in 2020.
San Francisco defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryan is a rising head coaching candidate, and he has plenty of talent at his disposal. But stopping Mahomes is always a top challenge, as we already see midway through Sunday’s game.
