Oct 28, 2018; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) throws a pass against Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller (58) in the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. Photo Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes continues his torrid hot streak with his seventh straight 300-yard passing game, tied with Peyton Manning for the third most in league history. He also tossed four touchdown passes, raising his total to 26 through the first half of the season.
“For me, it’s all about getting the ball out of my hand,” Mahomes said. “That’s the biggest thing for me. As long I’m getting the ball out of my hand, there’s a good chance good things are happening.”
Mahomes can tie Andrew Luck for the second-longest streak in NFL history with another 300-yard game next week against Cleveland. Drew Brees owns the league’s longest streak at nine games, which he accomplished twice.
Broncos linebacker Shane Ray, who sat out Sunday’s game with wrist and ankle injuries, said Mahomes is the real deal.
“Can’t take anything away from the kid,” Ray said. “He’s incredible with what he does. I know Chiefs fans love him, they got to. You’ve seen what he’s done every time we play him.”
Mahomes reached the 300-yard mark with just a bit of drama. He completed a 10-yard pass to fullback Anthony Sherman on his final throw of the day, getting him to 303 yards. But a flag for offensive holding on left guard Cam Erving appeared to wipe out the gain.
But after initially accepting the penalty, Broncos head coach Vance Joseph declined the penalty. That brought up fourth down for the Chiefs, but let the 10-yard pass stand and extended the streak for Mahomes.
Tough loss for Broncos
Denver’s veteran leaders didn’t sugarcoat their feelings on Sunday’s 30-20 loss at Kansas City, the seventh straight victory for the Chiefs over their AFC West rivals.
“This was one of the hardest losses that I have ever had in the regular season,” cornerback Chris Harris Jr. said. “You fight so hard and do whatever you can to win and it’s really upsetting.”
He blamed penalties much of the team’s struggles in the loss.
“I’m tired of it,” Harris said. “I’m getting fed up with it, really. We’re beating ourselves every week. I can’t count how many penalties we had on ourselves. You can’t do that if you’re going to come in here and beat the Chiefs.”
Broncos near 200 yards rushing
Denver head coach Vance Joseph saw his team rush for 189 yards on ground against the Chiefs, but it wasn’t enough for his squad to come out on top.
“It is definitely hard to lose a game when you rush for that,” Joseph said. “In my opinion, we controlled the game outside of the penalties.”
The Broncos certainly could have added to that total. Joseph saw his team penalized 10 times for 85 yards. Two of those penalties wiped out big gains by running back Phillip Lindsay. The Broncos averaged 6.3 yards per carry with Lindsay contributing 95 yards and Devontae Booker going for 78 yards on just nine carries.
“I knew we could block them up front,” Joseph said. “What we did offensively I was not surprised. I was hoping for a lot more in the second half especially, but the penalties kept pushing us back. It was unfortunate.”
Sherman tripped up
The Chiefs nearly added a cherry on top of their scoring avalanche when Sherman scooped up an onside kick at the end of the game and appeared poised to race for the end zone when a tackler clipped him from behind.
“He just hit me in the thigh,” Sherman said. “I was just making sure I had the ball before I started to run.”
Sherman elicited a huge celebration from his teammates with a 36-yard touchdown catch in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers, and another touchdown from Sherman would have rocked the Arrowhead Stadium crowd. Right tackle Eric Fisher ribbed Sherman about his “almost touchdown” after the game.
“I tell you what, this guy here, he’s like an almost-touchdown machine,” right tackle Eric Fisher. “He had his one highlight early in the season, and he’s about to probably almost get six more touchdowns, Almost.”
Sherman gave Fisher a hearty laugh in response.
“That’s good, Big Fish,” Sherman said.
Reid moves up
Andy Reid picked up win No. 201 in his career including postseason victories. The win ties him for eighth place in league history with former Broncos head coach Dan Reeves.
Next up on the list is another name familiar to Chiefs fans. Former Kansas City head coach Marty Schottenheimer ranks seventh all-time with 205 career victories.
