As the Kansas City Chiefs gear up for another playoff run, quarterback Patrick Mahomes is already casting a wary eye on one player he believes could derail their quest for a third Super Bowl title in just five seasons.
Speaking candidly in a recent interview, Mahomes admitted that the Chiefs are far from invincible and made it clear that one opponent in particular poses a serious threat to their championship aspirations this season
“We are not invincible; we have to take note of this player in particular,” Mahomes said. “He’s the kind of guy that can change the entire game. We’ve got to be ready for him.”
While Mahomes didn’t name the player outright in his initial comments, it quickly became clear who he was referring to—Derrick Henry, the powerful running back for the Tennessee Titans.
Patrick Mahomes Has Telling Admission On Not Being 100 Percent Healthy
Questions surrounding the stability of Patrick Mahomes’ ankle certainly lingered heading into Saturday’s matchup with C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans, but the two-time MVP quickly put a lot of those concerns to rest.
Mahomes opened the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown run on Kansas City’s first drive, which eventually led to a 27-19 win to inch his team one game closer to locking up the one-seed in the AFC playoffs.
After the victory, Mahomes opened up about the injury and why it meant so much for him to be able to gut it out for his teammates.
“I ask a lot from the guys around me and, so, I feel like if I’m going to ask them to play through pain, if I’m going to ask them to play through little nicks and bruises and stuff like that, I’ve got to do it,” the three-time Super Bowl champ admitted. “That’s something that I pride myself on, is being out there with my guys and playing football. I’m not going to put us in a position to be in a bad spot or lose a football game, but if I feel like I can compete and win, I’ll be out on that football field.”
Mahomes was 28-of-41 in the game for 260 yards and a second TD through the air. His coach, Andy Reid, couldn’t say enough about the QB’s performance and how tough Mahomes is in all aspects.
“He’s so tough and mentally and physically,” Reid said at his postgame press conference. “You just get used to it, but most guys don’t come back from that like he did. But he set his mind to it, then jumped in that training room and stayed there.
They worked on him, and they did a great job with that, our trainers. Most guys don’t do that. It sends a message to the whole team. Our guys, our leaders, are good in that way. They try to play through things like that.”
Mahomes and the Chiefs are in good position to pull off something that’s never been done before and that’s win three straight Super Bowl championships — something that would almost certainly cement the 29-year-old as one of the greatest to ever do it (if he hasn’t already).
