Patrick Mahomes is not only the best quarterback in the NFL, he’s also the most clutch. Was there ever a doubt that he wouldn’t lead the Kansas City Chiefs on a game-winning drive versus the Los Angeles Chargers?
Not at all.
With 4:45 remaining in the fourth quarter, Mahomes engineered his seventh game-winning drive of the season to lift the Chiefs to a 19-17 win over the Chargers.
Mahomes and the Chiefs converted three third downs on the game-winning possession. The final third-down conversion was another reminder why the Chiefs are back-to-back Super Bowl champions and have won nine consecutive AFC West titles.
On third-and-7 with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs needed a first down to milk the clock for a game-winning field goal. Mahomes ran a naked bootleg to the right, evaded Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley and tossed a nine-yard pass to tight end Travis Kelce for a first down.
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The successful third-down conversion exemplified why Mahomes is so special. He makes clutch plays and wills his team to victory.
‘I mean, I have trust in Pat making those kinds of plays. He kind of said that before the play, just – ‘I’ll make something happen,’ so, he has the option to run, an option to throw to the back and then everyone is coming to him on that,’ Chiefs coach Andy Reid said to reporters postgame. ‘I thought he did a good job.’
The Chiefs were able to run the clock all the way down to one second. Then kicker Matthew Wright, who is replacing injured kicker Harrison Butker, snuck in a game-winning 31-yard field goal that doinked off the upright and through.
It was Kansas City’s 10th win by one score this season. Five of their victories have been by three points or less. They have won 15 straight games decided by one-score or less (including playoffs), the longest streak in the NFL.
Football is the ultimate team sport. The Chiefs’ defense is one of the stingiest units in the NFL. But the Chiefs just so happen to have the best and most clutch player at football’s most important position.
‘As long as we have a chance to go out there and have the football and make a play happen, I feel like we’re going to make it happen,’ Mahomes said.
Mahomes has 3,189 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions this year. He’s not having a stellar statistical season by his standards. Yet, Mahomes tips the scales in Kansas City’s favor in a league that has had 99 games decided by six points or fewer to date (before Monday’s Cincinnati Bengals vs. Dallas Cowboys game). He is why the Chiefs won the AFC West again and are attempting to become the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls.
Sunday night’s win gave the Chiefs a two-game lead in the race for the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
In the conference, the road to Super Bowl 59, is looking like it’s going through Kansas City once again.
‘It’s our first goal every single year, to win the AFC West. This is a great division. A lot of rivalries (and) everybody is playing each other tough. Three teams are probably gonna make the playoffs. It speaks to the division that we play in,’ Mahomes said. ‘To be able to win this division, to gain another game in the playoff picture. It was an important game for us against a really good football team. We found a way to get a win. But now we have to keep building if we want to get to our ultimate goal.’
