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Lost in all the news about the injury he suffered in the second quarter that caused him to leave the game, on Thursday night, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes set an NFL young-guy record: reaching 7,500 yards in career passing yardage in only 24 games — faster than any other quarterback in league history.
In fairness, it should be noted that the previous record-holder — Kurt Warner — was 29 in when the did it in 27 games. So maybe it’s more like an NFL (usually) young-guy record.
But another milestone reached in Thursday night’s game is pretty much exclusively an NFL old-guy record. With the team’s 30-6 victory over the Denver Broncos, Mahomes’ mentor — head coach Andy Reid — became only the eighth head coach in league history to accumulate 200 regular-season wins.
Reid readily acknowledged his age when asked about the record.
“I’m old,” he quipped. “I really don’t think about all that stuff. The whole saying is, ‘You’re only as good as the next one,’ and that holds true in the National Football League. I’ve been around long enough to know that, so you’ve got to just keep grinding.”
But while he denied paying much attention to the achievement, Reid kinda-sorta gave himself away. “I appreciate you asking that,” he added.
And that’s OK.
In his 21st season as an NFL head coach, Reid is entitled to a victory lap. Now tied with former Chiefs coach Marty Schottenheimer in seventh place on the all-time list, with another win, he’ll hold the position by himself. With another season of coaching, he could move into sixth place ahead of Paul Brown. With one more season after that, he could move into fifth in front of Curly Lambeau — well into the rarefied atmosphere where coaches have streets, buildings and trophies named after them; the top six coaches (aside from the still-active Bill Belichick, who is currently third) are all in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
So enjoy your lap, coach. It’s a mini bye — and you’ve earned it. But then you’ll have some more grinding waiting for you.