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It was a close win for the Kansas City Chiefs over the Carolina Panthers Sunday afternoon, 30-27, which some could see as a concern due to the immense struggles of the latter. Still, the win was led by Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes, who spoke after the game about what he wants to see in future games regarding the final score.
Mahomes finished with a solid outing as he threw for 269 yards while completing 27 of 37 throws to go along with three touchdown passes. He would say in his post-game press conference that despite the victory, he would want to have some more “blowouts,” according to Adam Teicher of ESPN.
“You want to have some blowouts,” Mahomes said. “You want be a little calmer in the fourth quarter. I’ve always said it can be a good thing as you get to the playoffs and later in the season, just knowing that you’ve been in those moments before and knowing how to kind of attack it.”
“But I would love to win a game [before] the very last play.”
As Mahones would imply, the Chiefs won off of a Spencer Shrader field goal as time expired to give them the game, which was needed after the loss to the Buffalo Bills last weekend. There had been immense criticism of Mahomes’ performance this season, but so far, he has thrown for 2,673 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions as head coach Andy Reid spoke about his “feel for the game.”
“He has a great feel for the game,” Reid said. “He knows by the coverage where guys are and what they’re trying to do and accomplish with the coverage, and he can feel the front.”
Despite how close it has been, it was a historic win for the Chiefs and Reid getting to double-digit wins for the tenth consecutive season. However, looking specifically at this season, Kansas City has eight wins by one score, as it helps to have a quarterback like Mahomes in that situation.
Even still, the game was put in the hands of Shrader as Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker is still injured, and he capitalized in making a 31-yard field goal to give them the win. There is no doubt that it would be unnerving for a rookie to come into the game, but his goal was to “stay calm.”
“I knew that I’d be getting an opportunity, so I just tried to stay calm, understanding that it was going to come at some point,” Shrader said. “Then, when it did come, I was ready. That comes from a belief in the team that they’re going to get you in that situation, and then you go out there and just knock it through.”
There were some questions about if Shrader could overcome the pressure, but so far, he has done it as Reid would say, it’s not an easy...
