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FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts. – Patrick Mahomes crossed the Gillette Stadium Tunnel Sunday night late into the night. The exhilarated roar of more than 66,000 spectators followed him at the speed of a harsh winter wind.
The last and greatest test of Mahomes had just finished, and fans of the New England Patriots dressed in red and blue rejoiced at the failure of his team after a captivating victory 43 at 40 against the Kansas City Chiefs in front of an audience broadcast at prime time on a national scale. But what those same enthusiastic fans did not know – what they could not see, since he was already out of their sight on the way to the locker room – was how much this young Gunslinger had enjoyed the previous three hours, how much he aspired. return to this place and conquer it.
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Even though the Chiefs lost 5-1 with the loss – which allowed the Patriots (4-2) to maintain the AFC's highest ranking for the third season in a row – the quarterback of Kansas City's quarterback was up. so, as he headed for the locker room, he paused for a second to recognize an observer with a smile and a nod before rushing in front of his teammates to be one of the first to enter the locker room.
A quarter of the leaders Patrick Mahomes felt the heat of the Patriots linebacker, Dont'a Hightower. The result: an interception in the end zone. (Getty Images)
It was not an ordinary game for Mahomes, the quintessential consensus player in the quarter, whose rogue style of play allowed for comparisons between Brett Favre and hardened and hardened football players. It was not only his first contact with the "Sunday Night Football", but also his first opportunity to face real greatness, both in the form of a counterpart (Tom Brady) and D & B A defensive brain that happens to be also the greatest coach head of his era (Bill Belichick).
"Oh, you're learning a ton," Mahomes said after the match. "I'm just proud of my team and how we fought to get back into the game."
Especially after the way they started. Preventing the previously undefeated Chiefs from running away from the conference – and gaining an advantage on their playing field throughout the playoffs – was a game that the Patriots had to win. As such, Belichick, who is renowned for his tactical advantages on the edge of the Earth, played some defensive glances with which Mahomes had trouble getting rid in the first period, one of which resulted in an interception that led to the first touchdown of the Patriots.
The linebacker Who's Hightower was in the heat of the moment, as he had bitten into the race, as he had bitten into the race before starting high-speed play of Mahomes. the middle, that he hung and sprinted at the 4-yard line.
"I just did not see it," said Mahomes.
The second interception of Mahomes, who arrived in the red zone just before half-time, was the result of an excessive attempt by QB, as he moved away from the pressure and sent the tight goal Travis Kelce in triple cover, only to ensure safety Duron Harmon intercept the tip.
"I'm just a little too greedy," said Mahomes. "I thought I could throw it a little higher and Kelce could go get it and I was a little touched while I was throwing and I had just left it short."
The choice sent the Patriots, who were in front 24-9 at the time, in the locker room with all the momentum of the world. At this point, Mahomes had missed several receivers open under fire, completing 14 of 23 passes for 164 yards and two interceptions. His quarter was 46.3, compared to 116.8 for Brady.
Tom Brady started in eight Super Bowls during his career. Patrick Mahomes started in seven games in his young career. (AP)
According to their teammates, many were struck by the speed with which Mahomes had gone from his first tough period and by his enthusiasm for how he seemed to be back and start throwing him back while he was talking to him. 39 team before returning to the field.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "" It was liveSaid defensive end Allen Bailey with a chuckle. "You could feel the confidence and energy coming from him. There was no problem at all. That's how he always is, and that confidence extends like wildfire on both sides of the balloon. Whenever a quarterback does that … we are ready to panic or die. "" Data-reactid = "77"> "He was liveSaid defensive end Allen Bailey with a chuckle. "You could feel the confidence and energy coming from him. There was no problem at all. That's how he always is, and that confidence extends like wildfire on both sides of the balloon. Whenever a quarterback does that … we are ready to panic or die. "
The NFL is a performance league. Therefore, any inflamed emotion does not mean anything if a player does not do his job. Mahomes, the son of a former professional baseball player, knows that in the Chiefs' third game after a scrum, he threw a 67-yard missile – in motion – to running back Kareem Hunt for a touchdown that brought the Chiefs back. The mixture.
While Mahomes was on his way to an outing where he completed 23 of 36 passes for 352 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions, the incomparable Brady – who had 24 of 35 for 340 yards and one TD – also drove. And one night when none of the two defensemen had set foot, unfortunately for Mahomes, it was the future 41-year-old Hall of Fame, which had the last ball, that made all the difference. Tyreek Hill scored 40, three minutes from the end of the match, but the Chiefs never saw the ball again. Brady completed two passes in six passes for a 65-yard shot. Stephen Gostkowski scored 28 yards at the end of the allotted time.
The Chiefs' players were not angry or frustrated outside after the loss. Confidently confident would be a good way to describe it, in fact. The way their young quarterback reacted in front of a whole nation reinforced their confidence and their feeling that they were destined to face the Patriots in the playoffs.
"We'll see those cats again," Bailey said later, with a confident little laugh.
The teammates of Mahomes were not the only ones to be impressed. A few meters away, some of the defending AFC champions were sitting in front of their locker, explaining that, put aside, they had just played a match whose pace and excitement were not so different from their Super Bowl. thriller against the Philadelphia Eagles last February.
"I'll tell you the truth, man: we knew that in the game it would be a playoff atmosphere," Harmon told Yahoo Sports. "Two good teams are fighting," Sunday Night Football ", everyone is watching. We knew what it was going to be, and it was up to it.
"There was only one combination, like the Super Bowl," said special teams star Matthew Slater at Yahoo Sports. "Facing a team like that, it rolls so well, to be able to win like that, it's encouraging."
In the week leading up to the showdown, the Patriots' coaches saw the entire team watch clips of the Chiefs. Slater said many of his teammates emitted audible exclamations in some Mahomes shots.
"We watch the film as a team and its arm strength is elite – that's really the case," said Slater. "We saw him throw a ball of about 70 yards in the air against Atlanta and hit Tyreek on a deep road. I mean, you do not see it every day. The guy is remarkable. "
That's why the Patriots side was not surprised by the way Mahomes reacted Sunday to his difficulties in the first period.
"Some people can throw away, but he can throw away and his accuracy is excellent," said cornerback Stephon Gilmore. "We saw it on film."
"Oh no, man, we knew that," Harmon said with a chuckle. "This guy is the real deal, man. You see it on the movie every week, dude … we've proved it again tonight. They have a hell of a quarterback there.
And here's the thing: Mahomes knows it. He believes in himself and in his arm, so much so that he does not really feel bad when he has a bad half, as he did on Sunday. It is a gift that allows him not only to continue throwing the pebble without guilt, but also to wait impatiently for the challenges … like facing the Patriots in January, for example.
Only this time, he will be armed with the certainty that he has looked great in front of an entire nation, absorbed a punch and almost triumphed in spite of it.
"We ended up not going out with the win," said Mahomes. "But just this fight, it's something you can continue until the end of the season."
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