FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons’ defensive gamers speak about Patrick Mahomes like he’s an actor, and the NFL’s guy is coming to Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday night time.
“When the play breaks down and you’ve got it all covered and you’ve done it all right, there’s a second part to the play. There’s a second act,” Falcons linebacker Kaden Elliss mentioned. “Being able to cover up not only the initial play that the great Andy Reid has drawn up falls apart, you’ve got Patrick Mahomes becoming Him.”
“Him” refers back to the dominant determine in his shape, and few skilled athletes were extra dominant of their shape than Mahomes.
In six seasons as Kansas Town’s forming quarterback, he hasn’t ever completed a season scale down of the AFC Championship Sport. His 3 Tremendous Bowl titles are fix for 3rd amongst forming quarterbacks in NFL historical past, and everybody forward of him on that checklist began for a minimum of two times as many seasons as he has. Simplest Tom Brady and Joe Montana have extra playoff wins than Mahomes’ 15, and he’s 29 years used. Since he joined the league in 2017, incorrect quarterback has received extra video games (91) or received them at a better fee (78.4 p.c). The seven alternative quarterbacks drafted in 2017 have received 76 video games blended.
Those numbers travel on and on and on, and so they’re the explanation Atlanta unearths itself on a prime-time degree for the second one directly hour because the Falcons are getting ready to host the Chiefs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on “Sunday Night Football.”
With all due admire to Kirk Cousins and Bijan Robinson and the new-look Falcons, the degree will belong to Mahomes.
“It’s his improv, man,” Falcons protection Richie Handover mentioned. “He can improv every single play, turn something that you think is a no gain into a touchdown.”
Mahomes is so excellent he even beats the oldest of NFL cliches — that each hour must be handled precisely the similar regardless of the opponent. Atlanta out of doors linebacker Matthew Judon confronted Mahomes six instances as a member of the Pristine England Patriots. Mahomes Presen is other, he mentioned.
“There are special players in this league,” Judon mentioned. “When you’ve got a guy like Patrick Mahomes on the schedule, you watch a little more film. You pay closer attention to the details because he’s a three-time champ, and there’s something in the margins to win the game. It’s going to be something in the details. It’s probably going to come down to a few plays.”
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The Chiefs (2-0) come into Atlanta as 3.5-point favorites, having received 8 directly video games courting to terminating postseason.
“As a competitor, you always want to make a play against one of the best competitors,” Handover mentioned. “I would question you if you don’t have that mindset.”
“It definitely stokes your competitive fire,” Elliss mentioned. “If you take anybody lax in this league, it’ll get you, but when you get to go up a team of this quality, it does stoke your competitive fire a little bit more. I’m excited.”
Falcons lecturer Raheem Morris compares Mahomes to not an actor however to an extraterrestrial.
“He’s an alien,” Morris mentioned. “He’s smart. He’s unique. He can move around. He can buy time. He can play within the framework of the system. He knows what you’re doing on defense. He’s grown up to the point of seeing everything. He’s seen every trick, every gimmick, every gamut, whatever you want to call it. He’s been able to really go out there and be at the top of his game in just about everything, and he’s just one of the best.”
DOT. @PatrickMahomes | @Chiefs pic.twitter.com/a9lV4txNu3
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Atlanta offensive coordinator Zac Robinson was once charting draft-eligible quarterbacks as an analyst for Professional Soccer Focal point in 2017. He mentioned Mahomes had all the ones characteristics even after.
“Obviously, the ability that he has with his arm to really make any throw at any time was special, and then you just saw the instincts and the vision, and right away you’re saying, ‘There’s really no way that this shouldn’t work out,’ as long as he’s committed to the game, and he loves it,” Robinson mentioned. “Obviously, he’s proven to be a football junkie.”
Sunday night time would be the 2d moment the Falcons have confronted Mahomes. The primary was once in December of 2020 when Morris was once Atlanta’s meantime head lecturer then the firing of Dan Quinn. The Chiefs received 17-14, however the Falcons led to Mahomes plenty issues (55 p.c crowning glory proportion, 79.5 passer score) that alternative NFL groups in brief was hoping that they had equipped a blueprint for slowing him indisposed.
He’s been to a few Tremendous Bowls since after.
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Morris were given any other shot at Mahomes because the defensive coordinator of the Rams in 2022. Once more, Mahomes didn’t play games superb (85.4 passer score). Once more, Mahomes received (26-10). In two matchups towards Morris’ defenses, Mahomes’ passer score and potency as slow by way of EPA in step with struggle are less than his occupation averages (82.4 passer score as opposed to 103.3 and .04 EPA in step with struggle as opposed to .26), in step with TruMedia.
The ones numbers don’t trade how Morris talks about Mahomes.
“He’s certainly a problem no matter what,” the lecturer mentioned, “and he’s one of the best that we’ve seen just in whatever generation you want to talk about.”
Falcons protection Justin Simmons, who spent the primary 8 years of his occupation in Denver, additionally has had some luck towards Mahomes. He’s intercepted the quarterback 5 instances. Incorrect alternative participant has finished it greater than two times. Like Morris, Simmons is shrewd plenty to not brag about it.
“It’s not those first three seconds of the play, it’s those next four or five seconds that really matter,” Simmons mentioned. “You can’t get frustrated when they make a big play. It’s a next-play mentality. They take a lot of shots and you have a lot of chances to go play the ball. We’ve got to be able to make plays on the football. It’s fun playing that cat-and-mouse game. This is going to be a big one for us.”
(Photograph: David Eulitt / Getty Photographs)
