Arrowhead Pride
Jones hadn’t seen all the other NFL scores yet. Somewhere in the back of his mind — still — he clung to hope that this season might not be over for the Chiefs.
“Are we out of the playoffs?” he said, looking to the media members around him.
A few answered yes. The Chiefs, at 6-8, had been eliminated from any postseason chance with Sunday’s results.
“We are?” Jones said, his head nodding while looking down, taking in a moment of acceptance.
“OK.”
He pursed his lips, giving himself a second to take it all in.
It remained a shock — both to him and everyone else around the NFL world.
Looking for the Silver Lining in an Awful Day for the Chiefs | SI
But maybe today was the universe’s way of asking us to stop heaping expectations on this wunderkind-turned-legend. Stop comparing his recovery to Tom Brady’s lone lost season to the same injury. Stop wondering what this means in some nebulous and undefinable concept of greatness. Stop everything, because Mahomes, who has played the equivalent of an extra season’s worth of postseason games since arriving as Kansas City’s starting quarterback (21 of them), hasn’t been able to. Not once.
I think there are two main reasons why this could be a great blessing in disguise and the first is forcing a player with maniacal energy to take a step back. Just look at Mahomes’s post on social media about the injury, which led with “Don’t know why this had to happen.” He clearly feels weight. Pressure. A world temporarily coming to an end. And it’s difficult to blame him. When you’re as good as Mahomes, when you’re as successful as Mahomes, when you’re as marketable as Mahomes, an entire economy is dependent on your ability to stay transcendently great. Imagine sprinting on a treadmill at world record pace with the knowledge that you can never, ever get off.
Injuries to monitor after Week 15 | Yardbarker
This makes the Chiefs’ disastrous season even worse, as they have already been eliminated from the playoffs. Two-time league MVP Mahomes has been one of the positives for the fading dynasty this season. Entering Week 15, he ranked third in the league in passing yards (3,398) and was tied for fifth in passing touchdowns (22).
Backup QB Gardner Minshew is now set to replace Mahomes. The Chiefs (6-8) should continue to struggle with him as the starter. The former Jacksonville Jaguar has a 17-29 record as a starter over seven seasons. Against L.A., he went 3-of-5 passing for 22 yards and one interception.
NFL Week 15 takeaways: What We Learned from Sunday’s 14 games | NFL.com
Next Gen Stats Insight for Chargers-Chiefs (via NFL Pro): Justin Herbert faced the blitz on 19 of...
