Patrick Mahomes' best moments with Chiefs, as told by his teammates: 'It's one after another'

Vinnie Iyer

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Patrick Mahomes' best moments with Chiefs, as told by his teammates: 'It's one after another' image

MIAMI — The legend of Patrick Mahomes keeps growing with every jaw-dropping play the Chiefs quarterback makes. The more he does to defy logic, the less other Chiefs are surprised.

Sunday's Super Bowl 54 matchup against the 49ers isn't the last big game in the rise of the NFL's most dynamic player. For Mahomes' teammates, it's only the next one, much like the first.

Mahomes and receiver DeMarcus Robinson have connected on several dazzling long pass plays. But it was something non-football that stands out to Robinson. It occurred before training camp in July, when Mahomes was working out with a few pass-catchers that included Robinson, Gehrig Dieter and Travis Kelce in Turks and Caico Islands.

Robinson recalls most just how unrelenting Mahomes was in a late-night game of ping pong.

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“I thought we had an MVP for the first time I saw him, just hanging out with him," Robinson said. "When he was playing against Gehrig, he was so competitive, the ball was going so fast, I knew I couldn’t compete with him — nobody could have. He wanted to win so much, it was amazing. I saw that laser focus.”

Whatever he's done as Chiefs quarterback, on and off the field, Mahomes has done with the intent of winning games and winning over teammates. Chiefs quarterbacks coach Mike Kafka saw the immediate good vibes from the rest of the Chiefs soon after he was drafted No. 10 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft.

"Once you first got the kid around the building, everyone kind of knew. It was just a matter of time of him having to develop and get really comfortable in the offense," Kafka said. "No one knew how fast or how quickly it would happen for him. He put in so much work in his rookie season to set himself up to succeed.”

For speedy No. 1 wide receiver Tyreek HIll, his initial wow moment came right before Mahomes' 2017 rookie season.

“I knew he was special in his first training camp, even when he wasn’t going to be playing," HIll said. "The throws he was making, those no-look passes — it was like this dude was going to be tough when he got in there."

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Mahomes' blindside pass protector, left tackle Eric Fisher, experienced that 0-to-60 feeling on the last day of 2017. Mahomes, making his first career start for a resting Alex Smith, fired things up in the cold in a road rivalry game.

“I knew nothing about Patrick Mahomes when he came into the league. It was pretty clear right away the kid was a natural," Fisher said. "Seeing him play in that final game in Denver, the way he just went out there and led the offense down the field, it was pretty impressive, and the rest was history."

Mahomes completed 22 of 35 passes for 284 yards and an interception in that game, but teased his future brilliance by completing a 51-yard downfield strike to Demetrius Harris: the first completion of his pro career. Appropriately, it came on third-and-long. That seems an eon ago now, as those types of plays are so frequent.

“There are a lot of moments to think about," Fisher said, "Anytime you see the ball come out of his hand, it seems like the greater moments keep happening. It’s one after another. He’s making crazy, tremendous plays every week."

Chiefs running back Damien Williams, who joined the team in the 2018 offseason, recalled how, early in Mahomes' pre-MVP camp, there was a moment requiring blind faith that sold him on Mahomes.

"He told me, 'Just close your eyes and run, and the ball will be in your hands,'" Williams said. "So I trusted him, and like he said, there was the ball, thrown right into my hands."

Fast forward to the Chiefs' need for a big comeback against the Texans in the 2020 AFC divisional round. There was Williams, running, putting his hands out and catching a touchdown.

A close second for Williams came in Week 4 of 2018: Mahomes' second career game in Denver. He recalled how Mahomes avoided a sack from Von Miller, placed the ball in his left hand and converted an improbable third-down conversion to Hill in the Monday night comeback that brought his magic to a national stage.

"That's the play everyone talks about," Williams said, "where everyone else saw what we did."

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Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman also has been the recipient of Mahomes' magic several times. He's most amazed how Mahomes brings the high quality in such high quantity, with nothing lucky about the residue of design.

“He works on all his throws. It’s not like he goes out there and says, ‘Let try this,'" Sherman said. "It’s not one play for me — it’s the consistency which he does it, completing those tough passes into tight windows, that’s really something special.”

Rookie wide receiver Mecole Hardman is one of the latest Chiefs skill players to be invited to Mahomes' big-play party. He literally got up to speed on all the fun in a hurry.

“It was training camp and he rolled out and he hit me on 60-yard pass, all in the air, while I was on the run," Hardman said. "For him to do that, I knew there isn’t any play that’s ever dead with him."

"That was my wake-up moment," Hardman said. "I always need to keep running for him.”

Vinnie Iyer

Vinnie Iyer Photo

Vinnie Iyer, has been with TSN since 1999, not long after graduating from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He has produced NFL content for more than 20 years, turning his attention to full-time writing in 2007. A native of St. Louis, Mo. but now a long-time resident of Charlotte, N.C. Vinnie’s top two professional sports teams are Cardinals and Blues, but he also carries purple pride for all things Northwestern Wildcats. He covers every aspect of the NFL for TSN including player evaluations, gambling and fantasy football, where he is a key contributor. Vinnie represents TSN as host of the “Locked On Fantasy Football” podcast on the Locked On network. Over his many years at TSN, he’s also written about MLB, NBA, NASCAR, college football, tennis, horse racing, film and television. His can’t-miss program remains “Jeopardy!”, where he was once a three-day champion and he is still avid about crossword puzzles and trivia games. When not watching sports or his favorite game show, Vinnie is probably watching a DC, Marvel or Star Wars-related TV or movie.