Patrick Mahomes has made a splash, all right. Just past the midway point of his first season as a starter, the second-year quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs is the NFL's answer to Stephen Curry.
Mahomes, who has the Chiefs at 8-1, is the leader in the clubhouse for the league's Most Valuable Player. He is playing with combination of precision, creativity, instinct and the ability to strike from anywhere on the field, whether it's at the goal line or from long-distance. Sound familiar, Warriors fans?
The numbers are staggering. Sunday, Mahomes threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-21 win over Cleveland, tying Andrew Luck for the NFL record with eight straight 300-yard games. At his current pace Mahomes would pass for 5,157 yards (only six quarterbacks have passed for 5,000 yards in a season) and 52 touchdowns. The only quarterbacks in NFL history to have 50 touchdown passes in a season are Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.
Bad weather could slow his statistical roll in the second half of the season, but what Mahomes has done goes beyond numbers. Alex Smith, the quarterback who Mahomes replaced, expertly managed the Chiefs to plenty of wins.
Mahomes may be good enough to prevent the Andy Reid end-of-season sag, because he's not a game manager. He can seize a game and make it his own through a skill level that adds improvisation to fundamentals.
Fundamentals at times go out the window with Mahomes. He's even switched the ball to his left hand and completed a first down pass. But Mahomes mastered the Reid screen game and can feather short throws to receivers in stride, while at the same time throw lasers into tight coverage to the likes of Travis Kelce in the end zone.
Another parallel with Curry _ Mahomes has a supporting cast including Kelce, running back Kareem Hunt and wide receiver Tyreek Hill that perfectly enhance his ability to execute the basic plays and also make something from nothing.
It's a crowded MVP field for the remainder of the season, including Brady, Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, New Orleans' Drew Brees, Carolina's Cam Newton, the Chargers' Philip Rivers and the Rams' Jared Goff and Todd Gurley.
