Opinion: Patrick Mahomes, innovative Chiefs show they’re far ahead of Tom Brady’s Buccaneers
their 27-24 victory over the Buccaneers.
By the end of the quarter, Kansas City held a 17-0 lead, Mahomes had passed for 229 yards and two touchdowns, and Hill had seven catches for 203 yards and two touchdowns.
You can get away with early-game exercises in creativity like “The Black Pearl” when your offense boasts such potency and you can score from anywhere on the field, like the 75-yard bomb to Hill, or the 44-yarder that followed, or the 20-yard strike for Hill’s third touchdown of the game.
But “The Black Pearl” was more than just a failed trick play called to humor players. It represented the level of trust, alignment, cohesion and creativity that serve as the lifeblood of the defending Super Bowl champions.
As they moved up and down the field, seemingly at will, racking up a season-high 543 yards against one of the better defenses in the league, Reid, Mahomes and Co. put on a clinic. The Buccaneers found themselves on the receiving end and again were reminded of just how far they have to go (star-studded roster and all) to reach the ranks of the elite.
27-24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams and the blowout defeat to the New Orleans Saints have revealed, this Bucs offense very much remains under construction.
It’s clear that Brady isn’t yet comfortable in this system, and Arians and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich have yet to fully figure out how to blend their playbook with what the three-time MVP does best.
That’s why the Buccaneers struggled early, punting on their first four possessions of the game and trailing by double digits at halftime before finally stringing together back-to-back scoring drives in the fourth quarter.
“Football is so much about being in rhythm, staying in rhythm and finding rhythm,” Brady said.
Said Arians: “Offensively, we knew this was going to be a work in progress.”
Meanwhile, the coach couldn’t help but admire and respect the work of the Chiefs and marvel at Mahomes’ feats, which included the quarterback running for two first downs and passing for another while directing the game-sealing drive.
“It’s very frustrating,” Arians said of the challenge of stopping Mahomes. “Very few guys that I’ve seen in this league or any league can backpedal eight to nine, 10, 11 yards in the pocket and throw a dime 25 yards down the field. He has unbelievable skill set. We had a lot of good rushers on him and he just backpedals and slings it side arm or whatever and can read the defense while he does it. … Andy’s going to be coaching ’til he’s about 80.”
Early in the year, a Chiefs-Bucs matchup tickled imaginations of a Super Bowl preview. However, with this Week 12 date now in the books, it’s clear that the Chiefs remain as formidable as ever, but the Bucs have much work left to do over the final month of the season if they hope to see Kansas City again in February.