Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are going to be a significant roadblock for the New England Patriots going forward.
Watching Mahomes do his thing, make yet another magical comeback, while Andy Reid got off the Super Bowl schneid, had to be a bit disconcerting for those in Patriot Nation.
Mahomes isn’t going anywhere, any time soon. The Super Bowl MVP will be leading the Chiefs for the foreseeable future. He’s just 24 years old, and not some one-hit wonder. He’s truly a special player.
If and when necessary, the Chiefs will move mountains, and bank accounts, to keep their star quarterback in Kansas City to try to maintain their AFC reign.
You don’t let quarterbacks, who are that gifted and have that rare comeback ability, out the door. As the world witnessed the past month, no lead is safe with Mahomes on the opposite sideline.
Even throwing two picks in the championship game, and looking pedestrian for three quarters, Mahomes was lights out with the game on the line in the fourth quarter. Big-time players make big plays during big-time moments. That’s been Tom Brady’s description for decades. Now the handle also fits Mahomes.
If you’re Bill Belichick watching the KC quarterback deliver for the third straight postseason game facing a double-digit deficit, while Jimmy Garoppolo failed in the clutch, it had to be eye-opening.
If the Patriots expect to compete with Mahomes and the Chiefs in the future, they can’t just rely on defense to win.
They constructed their 2019 team specifically to beat the Chiefs and Mahomes. They almost did, but were undercut by woeful officiating. Maybe with a second try, they might have done just that.
But we’ll never know. The Patriots were too busy losing down the stretch and in the opening round of the playoffs to ever find out. In the end, their offense wasn’t good enough to deliver when the defense didn’t keep an opponent under 20 points.
The Niners also had a great defense. Same with the Titans. Neither of those teams could hold Mahomes an entire game.
By the same token, neither Ryan Tannehill nor Garoppolo could produce enough offense and get the job done.
So the Patriots have some work to do to keep the Chiefs on their radar, and that’s with or without Brady.
Brady gives them a chance if he remains, but they’re also going to have to find a quarterback who can go toe-to-toe with Mahomes for at least the next decade.
The Patriots can’t sit still, on either side of the ball. Whether Brady returns or not, the 2020 New England quarterback needs a tight end, and a receiver with speed at the very least.
They also need to re-sign a few of their free agents on defense – be it Devin McCourty, Kyle Van Noy, or Jamie Collins.
After beating the Niners on Sunday night, Mahomes was asked if the Chiefs might they have the makings to build a similar dynasty to the Patriots?
“It’s pretty amazing the dynasty or whatever you want to call it the Patriots have had these last 15 to 20 years, and so for me it’s about taking it one year at a time,” Mahomes said. “We came up short last year. We understood how hard of a challenge it was to get to this position again, and we found a way to do it.”
If the Chiefs wind up paying Mahomes $40 million a year, that’s where KC’s roster might suffer down the road. Will he be like Brady and take less, allowing the Chiefs to keep most of top their players and continue reloading? Or will he try to break the bank?
Mahomes at least sounded like he knew what was needed to keep the Chiefs on top, and preserve their potential to keep winning.
“Yeah, I think as long as we keep the people that we have in this organization on this team,” Mahomes said. “With the coach that we have, I think that we have a chance to be good year in and year out.”
On the flipside, what exactly does Belichick have in mind to keep the six-time Super Bowl champs in the mix?
There was a report Sunday the Patriots were willing to pay Brady “in excess of $30 million per year” to have him stay.
Beyond that, the report suggested Brady wants to see the team spend on some weapons.
To be able to ultimately thwart Mahomes and the Chiefs, the Patriots are going to have to do more, and get more.
That’s what the postseason told us.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
