Patrick Mahomes: Baker Mayfield is a ‘great player’ and ‘we know we’re going to have to play our best football if we are to win’



[ad_1]

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Patrick Mahomes watched the Browns take him to the Steelers, 48-37, on Sunday night and knows the Chiefs will have their hands full Sunday afternoon in the division round at Arrowhead.

“I watched almost everything,” Mahomes said Monday on KCSP 610 Sport Radio. “Obviously at the end you could say we were going to play them, so try watching that and I’m going to be watching a lot of them on film today, so I’m delighted to have the opportunity to play against a very good football. team.”

Mahomes obviously doesn’t share the sentiment of his wide receiver Sammy Watkins, who responded to a fan on Twitter pointing out the competition from the Browns by saying, “I wouldn’t go that far lol …!”

Watkins: ‘I wouldn’t go that far lol …!’ on the Browns bringing the competition

“We know that we are going to have to play our best football if we are to win against a very good football team,” said Mahomes.

As the Chiefs rest their starters and then have a first-round pass as the No.1 seed, Sunday will mark 21 days since Mahomes and other stars stepped foot in a game.

“You just have to prepare to go,” he said. “We practiced. We did things to prepare. At the end of the day, it’s about walking that soccer field and playing. I know our guys are ready to go. We’re going to go with that mindset and we’re going to fight for 60 minus or as long as it takes. ”

He knows the Chiefs will need to take it to the next level on Sunday, especially since they’ve won five games with just three points or less this season.

“You have to do it,” he said. “Anytime you’re in the playoffs, no matter how you play in the regular season, the playoffs are different. Everyone will fight. Everyone will do their best. For us we have to rely on our experience from last year and the year before and then rely on our guys in the locker room to step up their game and play even better. … it’s win or come home, so you have to go out there and put it all on the line every time you’re on the pitch. ”

While watching the Browns take a 28-0 lead over the Steelers, he reminded Mahomes that they don’t want to fall behind the Texans last year against the Texans in the divisional round – led 24 -0 approximately 19 minutes after the start of the match. before scoring 41 straight points to win 51-31 and advance the AFC Championship game. They also recovered from a 17-7 deficit to beat the Titans 35-24 in the AFC Championship game.

“We want to win in any way we can, but we want to try to make it a little easier than last year,” said Mahomes. “You have to find a way to fight, especially playing a team like this who can throw the ball obviously, but have these two great running backs who can run the ball and love to kick it and catch. a big lead. For us, we want to start quickly. We have to be better than what we did in the last playoffs … other than that I think our defense will also be able to accept the challenge against a really good offense hitting on all cylinders right now . ”

Unlike JuJu Smith-Schuster and others who respected the Browns in the playoffs, Mahomes knows what they are up against.

“This is playoff football,” he said. “Everyone will fight at the end of the day, everyone will do their best, everyone knows if they want to continue playing next week. … that’s what is so great about the NFL: Anyone can beat anyone in a single day. ”

Mahomes is also looking forward to facing Baker Mayfield for the fourth time since graduating from college, with hopes of tying his record at 2-2.

Mayfield beat Mahomes twice in college while in Oklahoma and Mahomes was at Texas Tech – Mayfield’s first school – including the famous shootout in 2016, won 66-59 by the Mayfield Sooners.

Mahomes went on to defeat the Browns 37-21 in Freddie Kitchens’ debut as the Browns playcaller on November 4, 2018 following the dismissal of Hue Jackson and Todd Haley.

Kareem Hunt ‘next week staff’

“ Baker welcomed me on my official visit to Texas Tech, so I visited Texas Tech and got to watch them play, but I got there just when he transferred to Oklahoma and so we didn’t never crossed paths that way, but great man, ” Mahomes said. “I still talk to him to this day. He’s a great guy, a great player and obviously a great leader in the team. ”

Mahomes acknowledged that the 66-59 shootout was one of the most memorable games he has ever been in. He completed 52 of 88 attempts for 734 yards and 5 touchdowns to set an FBS record for passing yards. Mayfield set an Oklahoma record with 7 TD assists, and both QBs combined for 1,279 passing yards – the most ever in a college football game.

“It was crazy,” said Mahomes. “They had a very good football team obviously and we were going there and we wanted to fight. We were playing in our stadium and we fought to the end. Obviously they managed to come out on top, but we were able to put together a very memorable game that a lot of people are still talking about to this day. ”

As for the ranking of the game, “it’s up there for sure. Probably that one, the AFC Championship we lost, the AFC Championship we won and most – the Super Bowl. ”

Mayfield admired Mahomes so much that he said ahead of their meeting here in 2018 that he believed Mahomes should have been the No. 1 overall pick in 2017 ahead of Myles Garrett.

“In terms of talent, I thought he should have been – I love Myles but…” he said then with a smile. “Coming from the Texas Tech system, there are always your skeptics, people who doubt that it just sat down and kicked the ball. He threw it 88 times in our game (a 66-59 win in Oklahoma over Texas Tech), but at the end of the day throwing the ball is throwing the ball, and he’s really good at it. field.

Mayfield admitted he was envious of Mahomes’ cannon arm.

Absolutely, ”Mayfield said. “There was a play in that college game, he was rolling to his left, he made a shot and went about 65 in the air for a touchdown, back in the end zone. He does things that you can’t even think would actually be possible.

Mahomes’ admiration for Mayfield is mutual.

“His talent is through the roof,” Mahomes said on a conference call ahead of the 2018 meeting. “He’s going to continue to improve every week and he’s been very successful already and the sky is the limit for him. ”

Chiefs coach Andy Reid has been impressed with Mayfield this season in Kevin Stefanski’s action-oriented schedule.

“He’s matured on the pitch,” Reid said at a press conference Monday. “I think he really fell in love with this shot and got it under control, so he’s doing really well. It’s not an easy thing to do when you’re given a few different things as a young quarterback, a few different plans to try and be the best. It’s not easy for many of these quarterbacks. A lot of guys get lost in this and it looks like he’s really motivated and done a great job.

Browns Playoff Affiliate Promo

Browns playoff shirts, hats for sale: Here’s where Cleveland Browns fans can order shirts and hats celebrating the team’s qualification for the 2020 NFL Playoffs.

More Browns Blanket

Can the Browns beat the Chiefs? The No.1 seeds have lost 30% of playoff games after a week off since 1995

Cleveland Browns and Ohio State Buckeyes: 32 hours of watching, winning, losing, showering and football

Joe Burrow says he intends to return for Week 1, hopes to launch again in February: NFL news summary

Browns put Michael Dunn and Robert Jackson on injured reserve

Should “Browns is the Browns” become the team’s new slogan? (survey)

It’s time for ‘An Act of Contrition’ after my choice in the game Browns-Steelers – Terry Pluto

Browns vs Chiefs preview: Why Cleveland is a good match for Super Bowl champions

[ad_2]

Source link