Alan Truex: Chiefs-Pats not overhyped as Game of the Year
In an NFL season where most games are being decided by rules a handful of people understand, there are still a few comforting certainties.
Bill Belichick and Andy Reid are smart coaches who almost always have their teams prepared. Tom Brady is the Greatest Quarterback of All Time. Rob Gronkowski is the GOAT of tight ends. And if he isn’t, Travis Kelce is.
So let’s put all these Hall of Famers into one football game, next Sunday night, NBC in Foxborough, MA. Add the most scintillating of millennial athletes, Tyreek Hill and Patrick Mahomes, and you can see why the NFL and all its affiliated networks are billing this – or will be — as “The Game of the Year.”
No reason to think it won’t be. The home team, the New England Patriots of Belichick, Brady & Gronk, have played in the last two Super Bowls. They’ve been rebuilding on the fly since the season began, but now they’re close to what Belichick, the most demanding of coaches, wants them to be. They’ve outscored their last two opponents by a margin of 76-31.
As for their adversary, the Kansas City Chiefs of Reid, Mahomes and Tyreek, they are 5-0 and also appear to be peaking. On Sunday they overwhelmed the league’s iconic Sacksonville defense. Tyreek Hill was last seen, if blurred, as he blew by the trash-talking All-Pro cornerback, Jalen Ramsey of the Jaguars.
Reid is the master designer of balanced offense. His teams consistently run, pass and catch the ball, but in years past they relied on gadgetry to win most of their games.
That’s clearly no longer the case, with Mahomes at 22 compared to Brett Favre and John Elway for his athleticism and arm strength. Reid is Coach of the Year material for having the courage to commit to Mahomes over Alex Smith, the AFC’s leading passer last season.
Most of the sporting media anticipated an uneven beginning for Mahomes, who started only one game as a rookie after being the No. 10 overall pick of the 2017 draft. Interceptions were expected. Surprisingly, Mahomes is one of the steadiest passers in the league, throwing only two interceptions, to 14 touchdowns.
Belichick is not eager to talk about anything, but he sounded effusive when describing Mahomes in a conference call Monday morning.
“He sees things quickly, can extend plays. He’s got a fabulous arm. He can throw the ball out of the stadium. He makes good decisions. He’s accurate, gets the ball out on time.”
In fact, Mahomes has been sacked only six times this season – same number as Brady. Much unlike Brady, Mahomes is a productive scrambler, not as interested in running for a first down as in creating time for Hill or Sammy Watkins to break loose downfield.
Reid is famous for scripting beautiful plays, but much of Mahomes is spontaneous. He led his team on a fourth-quarter drive in Denver that included a completed left-handed pass, Favre-style.
Watching film of Mahomes playing for Texas Tech, Reid saw much of what he had seen in Favre. Reid describes Mahomes’ adventurous attitude: “The coach is going to give me this, but if that’s not there we’re going to make it happen.”
Mahomes is a sturdy 6-3, 230 pounds. He looks several years younger than his age. And his voice is childlike – often compared to Kermit the Frog. “I know I have a funny voice,” he says. “I’ve been hearing about that since I was thirteen.”
When his teammates are asked if Mahomes has any flaws, the sole complaint is that they have difficulty hearing his calls at the scrimmage line.
Could that be why the Chiefs are not quick into their running plays? Their leading rusher, Kareem Hunt, is averaging 4.0 yards per carry, compared to 4.9 last year when Smith was on the cadence. Perhaps Alex Smith is a better field general, but Mahomes is a game changer, not a game manager.
Belichick is famous for scheming a defense that shuts down the opponent’s best player. He rarely fails in accomplishing that goal. But Mahomes is a unique challenge. Reid has supplied him with nuclear weaponry in Hill, Kelce and Hunt, all of whom are touchdown threats whenever the ball touches their very reliable hands.
Solid as the Patriots’ defense has become, they do not have athletes who can run with the Chiefs. Belichick will deep-zone; look for safety Devin McCourty to be standing almost in the parking lot.
But of course, the Patriots will have plenty to challenge a Kansas City defense that’s overly flexible against the run – allowing 5.8 yards per carry. New England may have the advantage in the offensive lines with the Chiefs losing their best guard, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, fracturing a fibula in Sunday’s game.
Brady is still in his prime at 41, nimble in the pocket. However dubious his training methods may be, it’s difficult to question the results.
And now he has his most trusted receiver back from suspension, Julius Edelman. And a recent Patriot acquisition, Josh Gordon, who if mentally right can stretch a field almost as rapidly as Hill.
When the Patriots lose it’s usually because Brady is pressured up the middle, forced “off his spot,” his timing disrupted, and then his temperament. He’s not reluctant to squawk at the O-line if he’s sacked a couple of times. But Brady – and all quarterbacks – are feeling more secure now than ever before. The pass-rushers know that unless they treat the quarterback like he’s a carton of eggs, they’re likely to be flagged.
The fact that Justin Houston, Dee Ford and Chris Jones had Blake Bortles under steady duress doesn’t tell us much about what they will do to Tom Brady. The last time the Chiefs ventured into Foxborough, Week 1 of last season, Kansas City won 42-27. That will give these visitors an unusual amount of confidence, while the home team counts on payback. Plenty of emotion all around, athleticism and strategy. Let’s hope the refs don’t ruin it.
