Patrick Mahomes creates motivation for himself — and everyone around him

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ leadership abilities set him apart from other NFL quarterbacks. His patience and confidence are what allows his team to control the momentum of a game. He and his teammates never feel like a game is out of reach — even in the midst of a major deficit or dwindling time on the clock.

Returning senior offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy says that Mahomes’ experience helps him make those crucial in-game adjustments.

“He sees the field so well,” noted Nagy on Thursday, “for now being in his fifth year, he [also] sees defenses so well. So when he communicates on the sideline to us as coaches, the game is slow to him.”

Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy also credited Mahomes’ game preparation, telling reporters on Thursday that the quarterback’s study habits allow him to know “exactly what type of schemes we’re seeing — and what to anticipate.”

Even when the Chiefs were down by 17 points to the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night, Bieniemy said that Mahomes played a major role in maintaining morale — and not losing sight of the goal at hand.

“You don’t like spotting teams 17 points,” the coordinator allowed, “but our guys understand it’s all about living in the moment. We can’t come back unless we take care of the next play — that’s by far the most important thing — and then we can focus on the next one and keep it moving after that.”

Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images

Nagy also acknowledged Mahomes’ ability to keep his team from losing the winning mindset — no matter what’s happening in a game.

“It’s really special to be able to see how [Mahomes] gets going when things aren’t going really well,” said Nagy. “It’s like he creates an edge — he creates a motivation within himself — to not just be a leader, but then to go out and do it on the field.”

Nagy also credits his quarterback for quickly moving on to the next game on the schedule.

“Every game so far that we’ve played,” marveled Nagy, “the second that the game ends, he celebrates for about two minutes. Then the first thing that he says to us — meaning the little quarterback group and myself and Coach [David] Girardi — is, ‘It’s time for Buffalo’ or whoever that next opponent is. It’s time for them now; that’s next.

“He’s wired that way. He’s on a mission right now — in a good way — and it’s one week at a time. That’s [what] I think is really good about where he’s at.”