that makes Patrick Mahomes great is more than mental or physical. It’s more than creativity, adaptability, drive, intangibles or trust. It’s more than confidence, which allows him to break so many conventional rules of playing quarterback (and so many records). Sometimes,
when words aren’t enough, we turn to video; maybe analyzing will help us understand. But in this case, even the flashiest highlights are insufficient. What makes Mahomes great is more than even his acts of greatness themselves.
Mahomes rarely makes negative plays. He does bad things at a lower rate than just about every other quarterback in the NFL, which unlocks everything else. That might sound elementary, but it’s remarkable given all the chances he takes and all the Kansas City Chiefs ask of him. Ultimately,
his superpower is on-the-run risk management, maximizing his immense natural talent while minimizing the ways his gun-slinging can burn the team.“It’s a gift,” Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor said.
The Chiefs’ run this postseason is a perfect example. Mahomes hasn’t vanquished foes with physical brilliance. In three games, he has topped 300 total yards once (barely) and scored just four touchdowns. But he has complemented the Chiefs’ dominant defense by protecting the ball and battling for field position.
He has dropped back 112 times and has had zero interceptions and zero fumbles and taken two sacks for a grand total of 11 yardsIn the run-up to Sunday’s Super Bowl against San Francisco and Brock Purdy, his counterpart on the 49ers, the wrong quarterback might be getting the label of “game manager.”
