Arrowheadlines: Mahomes has a once-in-a-generation arm coupled with savvy movement and intelligence

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Who Is the NFL’s Best Scrambling Quarterback? | The Ringer

Kansas City has been in some close contests this year, and in crucial moments Mahomes has dazzled, using his legs to extend plays well after they seem to be over. Teams have tried accounting for his impressive passing ability this season by implementing more zonal looks. It’s worked to some extent, but has done little to halt Mahomes from taking advantage of space when it’s presented to him.

Mahomes has converted 20 total third and fourth downs this season by gaining 15 or more yards, including three by rushing the football. He’s shown incredible mastery of keeping plays alive, using his incredible arm talent to find open receivers in a way unlike any player before him.

What’s especially rare about Mahomes is that there isn’t a true weakness to his game. His completion rate (65.8 percent for his career) never suffers. He doesn’t take many sacks nor does he throw too many interceptions—although there’s certainly a handful of plays where he should have been picked off this year. It’s a rare combination that only makes his ability to create and extend plays more tantalizing. Mahomes is the ultimate package—a once-in-a-generation arm coupled with savvy movement and intelligence.

Joe Montana on Patrick Mahomes potential for all-time greatness | FanSided

“I think when you look at him and his age and the things he’s accomplished already and, really, his ability to do the things he’s been able to prove that he can do, I see him obviously coming up to the top quickly,” said Montana. “I don’t think anything holds him back unless anyone forbid that anyone gets hurt. That’s the only thing that slows the guy down. I don’t think you can slow him down any other way.

“As long as they keep adding weapons for him—and as they say, you can’t teach speed and they’ve got some speed on that team—he’s got a cannon so he can let it fly.”

NFL Week 8 game picks, schedule guide, fantasy football tips, odds, injuries and more | ESPN

Bold prediction: The Jets will move the ball between the 20s against the Chiefs, who are yielding a rather hefty 4.9 yards per rush, but they will take an oh-fer in the red zone. Let’s call it 0-for-3. That is the Jets’ Achilles’ heel on offense, with a league-low 25% success rate in the red zone. So, no, there will be no stunning upset. — Rich Cimini

Stat to know: The Jets have lost all seven of their games this season by more than seven points; the 1984 Oilers are the only team since the merger to start 0-8 with all eight losses going for more than seven points. Furthermore, New York has a minus-118 point differential this season, and a 20-point loss would mark the team’s worst point differential through eight games in franchise history (minus-137 in 1976).

Chiefs player’s Super Bowl LIV ring has doubled in price in online auction | Kansas City Star

This is part of the description:

The 2019 Kansas City Chiefs started out the season with a disappointing 1-3 record at home, but their 4-0 start on the road was enough to keep them atop the AFC West and their 7-1 second-half record made them 12-4 overall which was good enough for the AFC West title and No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs. Led by 2018 MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs would dispatch the Houston Texans 51-31 in the Divisional Round, despite falling behind 24-0 in the second quarter, then defeated the Tennessee Titans 35-24 in the AFC Championship Game and then capped off their title run by defeating the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 – scoring 21 4th quarter points to erase a 20-10 deficit. This was Kansas City’s second Super Bowl title and first in 50 years since winning Super Bowl IV. To celebrate, the Chiefs franchise went all-out for their championship rings and presented here is one of those player rings.

The opening price for the keepsake was $35,000, but it’s now up to $70,000. The bidding closes at 9 p.m. on Sunday, so there’s still time to let loved ones know that this is what you want for Christmas.

2021 NFL Mock Draft: Steelers select Ben Roethlisberger’s heir apparent, Cowboys take defensive back | CBS Sports

Round 1 - Pick 32

Patrick Surtain II DB

Kansas City

A few weeks ago, I would have told you that the Chiefs defense was a big question mark and that they needed to focus their assets on that side of the ball. The group has risen to the challenge and made that mandate less urgent. There is still a low level of confidence that it will solve their long-term issues. Enter Patrick Surtain II.

Around the NFL

The Patriots’ dynasty is getting closer to extinction | SB Nation

Much of New England’s future hinges on the tea leaves of Belichick’s tenure with the team. There have been rumors he plans to hang it up after the 2021 season, which Belichick has repeatedly shrugged off. That will likely be the inflection point where the Pats elect to make large wholesale changes, but until then he’ll likely continue what he’s been doing for years: Milking the roster for every bit of talent he has.

The future of Cam Newton is less certain. Playing on a ludicrously team-friendly contract, Newton was banking on this being the “prove it” year he needed to land a long-term deal with a team. That will now be dependent on him bouncing back in the second half of the season, at which point the Patriots will decide whether it’s worth trying to move forward with Cam, or go in a different direction.

Broncos, Vikings players test positive for COVID-19; Sunday games remain unchanged | NFL.com

The Broncos will participate in virtual meetings Friday, with practice being postponed to Saturday, NFL Network’s James Palmer reported. Denver also released the following statement:

“We were informed early this morning that a Broncos player has tested positive for COVID-19. The player is at home in self-isolation along with two other players who were determined to be close contacts. Our organization, which has been operating under the league’s intensive protocols, is in consultation with the NFL and taking guidance from medical experts. As a precaution, we have made the decision to postpone today’s practice and conduct virtual meetings in preparation for Sunday’s game against the Chargers. The team is scheduled to return to UCHealth Training Center for practice tomorrow. The health and safety of the players, coaches and staff will continue to be of the highest priority.”

Five Sneaky Teams That Could Make a Run in the Second Half | SI

Los Angeles Chargers (2–4)

Justin Herbert is trending in the right direction, with a soft spot in the team’s schedule continuing over the next few weeks. He is top 10 in points above expected completion percentage, he’s one of the more appropriately aggressive quarterbacks in the NFL and he’s posted quarterback ratings of more than 110 in each of his last three games (two of those opponents were the top-ranked Buccaneers defense and the New Orleans Saints). He is being pressured on nearly 30% of his snaps but still has an on-target percentage mirroring some of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. The Chargers’ point differential is almost identical to that of the 5–2 Bills and Bears, meaning that there is an element of luck that simply has not generated to this point. I realize that luck is a dicey proposition for Chargers fans, but is there a chance they steal a few games they were unable to over the first half of the season?

Baltimore Ravens sign LT Ronnie Stanley to five-year, $98.75M extension, source says | ESPN.com

Stanley becomes the NFL’s second-highest-paid left tackle, striking a $98.75 million extension, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. His annual average of $19.75 million trails only that of Houston’s Laremy Tunsil ($22 million per season).

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Jets QB Sam Darnold sees ‘game-wreckers’ in Chiefs defense

Loggains had concentrated in calling more pre-snap motions in the game.

“I think having some of that stuff in helps with diagnosing defenses and obviously helps in the run game, in the pass game, as well just with certain things,” said Darnold. “So yeah, definitely, shifts, motions — when any team does it, when you watch other teams do it on film, you see how it helps them. So, we said kind of why not, and I felt like it was really good for us.”

But Darnold was also sacked six times against Buffalo, so it’s reasonable for him to be concerned about the Kansas City pass rush, too.

“Obviously, they’ve got — we call them ‘game wreckers’ — with Chris Jones and Frank Clark on the defensive line. They’ve got other guys as well, but those guys can do some special things on the football field.”

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