Was there really any doubt Patrick Mahomes would close out the Baltimore Ravens with another trip to the Super Bowl on the line?
Well, considering the Kansas City Chiefs didn't score after halftime during their 17-10 win over Baltimore in the AFC Championship Game, it's fair to assume the numbers indicated there was a chance the best quarterback in football wouldn't get it done with his team facing a potentially game-deciding third-and-nine late in the fourth quarter. Mahomes, shocker, had all the confidence in the world he and the Chiefs would convert regardless.
NFL Films posted a video of Kansas City's game-clinching third-down conversion to Twitter on Tuesday, including a snippet of what Mahomes told Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy as he walked to the sidelines after the Ravens called their final timeout. Mahomes had no interest in burning more clock before the two-minute warning by handing the ball off to Isaiah Pacheco or even opting for a similarly conservative short pass play.
The two-time Super Bowl MVP's message to Nagy?
āGive me the ball,ā Mahomes said. āGive me the ball.ā
"Give me the ball."
Mahomes trusting himself and his receivers is awesome to see š
Full @JustinqReid interview tonight 8/7c on @insideThenFL pic.twitter.com/DN0HouOpN4
ā NFL Films (@NFLFilms) January 30, 2024
Chiefs' crucial third-down conversion shows burgeoning trust between Patrick Mahomes, receivers
Ā
The result was a 32-yard completion to Marquez Valdes-Scantling right over the top of Baltimore's defense, which brought heavy pressure in a must-stop scenario. No one who's watched Mahomes over the past six years or during the Chiefs' latest Super Bowl run was all that surprised by that game-ending connection. Mahomes has enjoyed more postseason success before turning 30 than any quarterback in NFL history, after all, and has been far and away the league's best signal-caller during this year's playoffs.
But Mahomes had a down year compared to his normal standards, throwing for the second-fewest yards and touchdowns and most interceptions of his career. It's not Mahomes' individual play that drove his personal numbers and the Chiefs' offense as a whole down most, though. Kansas City's receiving corps was historically damaging during the regular season, not just leading the NFL in drops but directly contributing to several losses with game-changing mistakes down the stretch.
Remember Kadarius Toney's drop turned pick-six in the season-opener against the Detroit Lions, or his touchdown-negating offensive offsides penalty versus the Buffalo Bills? What about Valdes-Scantling's dropped go-ahead score against the Philadelphia Eagles?
The Chiefs have largely put those woes behind them en route to Las Vegas, though, winnowing their offensive gameplan to focus on Travis Kelce, Pacheco and Rashee Rice. All role players like Valdes-Scantling have to do is answer on the rare times they're called upon, just like he did in Baltimore on Sunday while putting the Ravens away for good.
So much for Mahomes not trusting his receivers in the game's biggest moments. We'll see if Valdes-Scantling can rise to the occasion again when the Chiefs play for another Vince Lombardi Trophy against the San Francisco 49ers on February 11th in Sin City.
Follow Us
Subscribe