Arrowheadlines: Patrick Mahomes greatness stops other Quarterbacks achieving theirs

One of the greatest testaments to Michael Jordan’s greatness, even perhaps in line with his sterling 6-0 NBA Finals record, is the players he prevented from winning rings. John Stockton and Karl Malone in Utah. Charles Barkley in Philadelphia and Phoenix. Patrick Ewing in New York. Reggie Miller in Indianapolis. All Hall of Famers, all turned away.

Patrick Mahomes has not ascended to that level, but with five AFC titles and three Super Bowls in the last six years, there’s a similar air of inevitability within his conference. Think of the moments: the 13-second field goal drive to force overtime and then beat Josh Allen’s Bills in the 2021 playoffs, the late hit out of bounds he drew to beat Joe Burrow’s Bengals in the 2022 playoffs, the deep dagger to beat Lamar Jackson’s Ravens in the 2023 playoffs, the fourth-quarter rally to beat Allen’s Bills again last season.

They’re infuriating, or they’re magical, depending on your perspective. You just have to shake your head and laugh sometimes. Mahomes is 6-1 in the postseason against the AFC’s other “Big Three” quarterbacks, owning a 15-2 passing touchdown-to-interception ratio in those seven games.

3) Travis Kelce believes his production might have “slipped” with “more focus” on his opportunities as an entertainer.

Taylor Swift is the greatest thing that has happened to the NFL since Tim Tebow. No, I will not be explaining any further. But for all Tay-Tay’s powers, it seems there will always be those pushing the narrative that she’s somehow to blame when her pass-catching beau struggles on the field or when his team gets smoked in the Super Bowl. Forget Kansas City’s 15-2 regular season and a berth in a third straight Big Game. They’ll say the reason Kelce and the Chiefs got poleaxed by the Eagles was because he was too busy cavorting on stage during a pop star’s world tour.

While Kelce himself didn’t put any blame on Swift in the comments published by GQ, he probably isn’t doing anything to quiet the narrative by suggesting that maybe he was a teensy bit distracted by his recently skyrocketed Q rating. After all, these days it’s hard to avoid seeing one Kelce or another podcasting, pitching products, or portraying poltergeists.

I can’t imagine the Chiefs loved hearing that analysis after one of the least productive seasons of his career. Good news! I’m here to offer a much simpler explanation: Maybe Kelce is just declining.

There’s no shame in that. I’m Pull-a-Muscle-In-My-Neck-While-Sneezing years old. I get it. Father Time eventually walks all of us down. According to Next Gen Stats, Kelce’s average speed, burst score and percentage of yards after the catch were all the lowest marks he’s posted in the past five seasons. Saying you’re more focused on the day job feels like a way to shrug off a down year. But it’s more likely that Kelce is just in his Getting Old Era.

(Please don’t come after me, Swifties.)

“I feel like the conversation of them being knocked off has less to do about Kansas City and their lack of talent, scheme, whatever you want to place your blame on, saying another team is going to take over,” said McCourty “I think it has more to do when you look at their division as more to do with when you watch Bo Nix last year, you have no reason not to believe that he’s going to be an even better player this year under Sean Payton in year two, when you watch what Vance Joseph did with Denver’s defense, then you add Talenola Hufanga, and you add Dre Greenlaw. They’re going to be even better. When you look at what the Chargers did with Jim Harbaugh in year one, well, dang, look what he was able to do with Justin Herbert. Yes, they lost the playoff games, but they got there in year one, just like they’re only getting better in year two. Then you add Pete Carroll in the division and Geno Smith. So I think it has less to do with them (Chiefs).”

3. A deep group is becoming thin

Just last month, Pro Football Focus ranked the Chiefs’ secondary second best in the NFL while lauding the team’s depth.

That advantage took a hit on Friday, as three projected rotation players left the game with injury.

Cornerbacks Nazeeh Johnson (shoulder), Nohl Williams (concussion protocol) and safety Mike Edwards (hamstring) all exited and didn’t return. Reid didn’t provide any further update on those guys afterward, so we’ll be left waiting a couple of days before knowing how impactful these ailments might be.

Hendrickson and the Bengals were in a contract dispute for virtually the entire offseason, with Cincinnati allowing him to talk to other teams about a potential deal at one point. However, no deal came to fruition, and the Bengals and Hendrickson have failed to reach an agreement on a new deal as he enters the final year of his contract.

With no contract extension coming to fruition this offseason, Hendrickson wasn’t shy to share how upset he was with the team. He skipped essentially the Bengals’ entire offseason program, including mandatory minicamp, before sitting out the first few days of training camp in July.

Hendrickson eventually ended his holdout, returning to the Bengals on July 30. That led to some optimism that a deal could get done soon, but he hasn’t practiced with the team at all.

After the Bears were one of three teams to not score a touchdown on their opening offensive possession in 2024, quarterback Caleb Williams led the first-team offense on a seven-play opening drive Sunday night that went 92 yards for a TD and served as a statement about the identity Chicago is trying to create.

“I think it sets a tone for us as a team,” Williams, playing his first game of the preseason, said after the Bears’ 38-0 demolition of a Buffalo Bills team that sat most of its starters. “I think it sets a tone for how we expect ourselves to play, go out there, perform. So yeah, it was extremely important.”

The Bears started with the ball after the Bills won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. After a mishap by wide receiver Tyler Scott while returning the opening kickoff put the Bears at their own 8-yard line, Williams operated a near four-minute drive that culminated with him finding wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus for a 36-yard touchdown pass.

The Jaguars are fortifying their defensive line by acquiring veteran defensive tackle Khalen Saunders from the Saints according to NFL insider Tom Pelissero. In return, the Jaguars are sending center Luke Fortner back to the Saints. The two teams played each other in New Orleans during the second week of preseason action earlier on Sunday. Saunders started the game for the Saints, but he’ll finish the day as a member of the opposing team.

Saunders, 29, is entering his seventh season in the NFL. Last year, he played in 13 games and started 10. He recorded 2.0 sacks, 43 tackles and had a memorable interception against the Chiefs.

He played the first four years of his career in Kansas City before joining the Saints in 2023, where he’d start 27 games across two seasons. Now, he’ll head to Jacksonville and join a defensive tackles room consisting of Arik Armstead, DaVon Hamilton, Maason Smith and Austin Johnson, among others.

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Tight end Robert Tonyan: If there’s one veteran who has consistently shown up at training camp and on the field, it’s this eighth-year veteran. It doesn’t seem to matter which quarterback is throwing the ball. They all find Tonyan in those open areas that Travis Kelce has exploited for years. Against the Seahawks, Tonyan logged five catches for 41 yards and a touchdown. If there’s a competition to become the Chiefs’ third tight end (after Kelce and Noah Gray), Tonyan could not have done much more to make his case.