–Patrick Mahomes turned 23 just one day after throwing a franchise-record six touchdown passes against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and if you think he celebrated in style, guess again. Mahomes watched film, ordered dinner online and had birthday cake with his girlfriend.
“That was my birthday,” Mahomes said. “That was what I wanted to do, and she said that was fine with her as long as that’s what I wanted to do.”
Mahomes admits he’s more comfortable staying home at night rather than having dinner out after a long day at practice.
“She doesn’t like that, but after I’m done with the day here, I don’t like leaving the house. I usually just try to order something to go,” Mahomes said.
Mahomes won his second straight AFC Offensive Player of the Week award on Wednesday. That recognition brings more attention to the second-year quarterback, who declined numerous interview requests this week aside from his local media appearances.
“I have seen it on social media, but that hasn’t really fazed me,” Mahomes said of the increased attention. “It is still early in the season. I know there is a lot of season left. For me, it is just about the process. The process of every day having a routine.”
Head coach Andy Reid remains impressed with his quarterback’s maturity and how he has handled the attention as the league’s hottest new quarterback. But he knows distractions remain inevitable.
“But are there going to be things that faze him? Yes, he’s a human,” Reid said. “Right now, he is sorting everything out and trying to get ready to play.”
–An overlooked contribution to the Chiefs’ 2-0 start and red-hot offenses rests on the offensive line, which has yielded just two sacks through the first games of the season and provided solid protection for Patrick Mahomes thus far.
“The offensive line is doing a nice job,” Reid said. “They have worked very hard at coming together and working.”
Center Mitch Morse said Mahomes has done plenty thus far to help himself when it comes to avoiding negative plays in the passing game.
“Whether it’s just picking up blitzes, making the right reads or just picking up the offense, it’s been pretty special to watch and it’s great to see him correlate that to Sundays and the success he’s had,” Morse said.
Morse also credits Reid and offensive line coach Andy Heck for creating a positive environment for the offense.
“We have great coaches and then we come out and we work on what we need to work on. The communication is huge in that department and we’ve done a really good job of communicating with each other and that correlates to putting points on the board.”
As for those two sacks the offensive line allowed, Mahomes took the blame for one.
“I stepped up and stepped on Mitch Morse’s ankle and took a sack instead of just getting the ball out of my hands,” Mahomes said “There’s stuff that you can get better at every single week and I’m going to keep trying to get better as this year goes on.”
–Safety Jordan Lucas didn’t join the Chiefs until after the preseason concluded, and he’s still sleeping on an air mattress in his new home in Kansas City, but that hasn’t stopped him from making himself comfortable among the club’s special teams units.
“One thing that I love is playing football, so coming in and having the opportunity to play right away, who wouldn’t want that,” Lucas said.
Lucas leads the Chiefs with 53 special teams snaps through the first two games. He has had no problems so far sliding quickly into a multi-faceted special teams role despite joining the team less than three weeks ago.
“You’ve got a different group of guys, you’ve got a different style of coaching and different terminology,” Lucas said, “so the quicker you pick it up the better of a player you will be. It’s just about adjusting and adjusting fast.”
The Chiefs sent a seventh-round selection in 2020 to the Miami Dolphins for Lucas to be a four-phase special teams player and eventually provide depth off the bench in the secondary. The Chiefs like his versatility to play multiple roles at safety and cornerback if needed.
“I’m learning a couple of different positions, and when my number is called I’ll be ready. That’s how I’m looking at.”
Lucas find himself happy with how the trade worked out for him. He’s amazed by the talent compiled on the offensive side of the ball and what quarterback Patrick Mahomes accomplished in his first two games of the season.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Lucas said. “The speed that we have and the want-to — the want-to here, these guys want to be great, they want to win.”
Lucas played in Arrowhead Stadium last season as a member of the Dolphins, but he’s looking forward to his first chance this week to take the field wearing red and gold.
“EB (Eric Berry) is telling me,” Lucas said, “he said, ‘Dog, there’s nothing like it. There’s nothing like playing there. It’s almost like playing in college.'”
BY THE NUMBERS: 0 — It’s hard to gloss over the record-setting 10 touchdowns thrown by QB Patrick Mahomes through the first two games of the season, but perhaps just as impressive are the lack of interceptions and turnovers by the second-year starter thus far.
