The Kansas City Chiefs ’ Super Wild Card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers must be doubly sweet for quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Football experts expressed harsh criticism toward his performances early in the season that brought the team to a 3-4 record.
But everything clicked for the former league MVP since then, giving the Chiefs nine victories in ten games.
However, the former Texas Tech standout was just getting started despite his team’s blazing run.
He elevated his game with another iconic performance during the NFL playoffs.
Running On Diesel
The Chiefs’ season didn’t take off until Week 8, when they narrowly defeated the New York Giants, 20-17.
Mahomes had 275 yards and a touchdown pass in that win that helped Andy Reid’s crew to shake off their struggles.
Before that game, Mahomes had nine interceptions in seven games, leading pundits to tag him as erratic and washed up.
However, the Super Bowl LIV MVP was just getting started, and the Chiefs went full throttle once he pressed his foot on the gas pedal.
Their only loss since was a 34-31 nail-biter against the Cincinnati Bengals.
But even in that game, Mahomes completed 74.3 percent of his passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns.
The Chiefs had victories against teams with winning records like the Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Green Bay Packers, and Pittsburgh Steelers during that stretch.
Kansas City had a repeat victory over Pittsburgh during the postseason, but Mahomes started slowly against Mike Tomlin’s crew.
The Steelers struck first with a fumble return for a touchdown by T.J. Watt.
That blunder was all Mahomes needed to unleash an onslaught upon the visitors.
Mahomes completed five touchdown passes to as many receivers, including offensive lineman Nick Allegretti.
The Chiefs’ 35-0 run put the game away for good, and the Steelers mounted little resistance.
Travis Kelce’s touchdown pass to Byron Pringle broke Pittsburgh’s spirit to establish a comeback.
However, Mahomes was undeniably the game’s best player with 404 yards, five touchdowns, and a completion percentage of almost 77 percent.
He completed a pass to eight different receivers and averaged 13.1 yards per completion.
Setting Records
With his impressive performance, Mahomes joined Roethlisberger as the only quarterbacks during the Super Bowl era to have at least 400 yards and five touchdowns in a playoff game.
Big Ben accomplished the feat during the 2017 Divisional Round against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Mahomes’ five touchdowns pushed his postseason tally to 22, putting him past Russell Wilson for most playoff touchdown passes by a quarterback in their first five seasons.
He also surpassed Wilson and Joe Flacco for most postseason completions in a player’s first five seasons.
As excellent as his performance was against Pittsburgh, Mahomes must be at his best again during their showdown against the Buffalo Bills.
Josh Allen also had a five-touchdown performance in their domination of the New England Patriots.
Likewise, the Bills defeated the Chiefs at Arrowhead in Week 5.
Buffalo also has the highest-rated defense by the end of the regular season.
Defeating the surging Bills will be a tall order for the Chiefs.
For a victory to happen, Mahomes must replicate, if not surpass, the performance he had versus Pittsburgh.
Otherwise, another season will end in disappointment.
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