Patrick Mahomes’s teammates were full of praise for their quarterback on Sunday night as he led them to a second successive Super Bowl title and their third championship in five years.
In all three of those victories Mahomes has helped his team come back from a 10-point deficit. And his performance in the Kansas City Chiefs’ 25-22 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas was of little surprise to those who play alongside him.
“I guess at this point, I take it for granted,” said Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. “But I know we’re in every single game I’ve ever played in with [Mahomes], no matter what the score is, no matter how much time is left, that guy’s got magic in his right arm, man, and he can just – he found ways to propel us, even with his legs as you saw today.”
Mahomes led the Chiefs on a touchdown drive in overtime to clinch victory. Cornerback L’Jarius Sneed said he had no doubt the 28-year-old would come out on top.
“I believe in Pat, and in Pat we trust,” said Sneed. “And with coach [Andy] Reid, I knew they were going to go down and score the ball.”
Chiefs safety Justin Reid paid tribute to his quarterback’s character.
“There’s no facade there,” he said. “[Mahomes] comes to work every day humble. He wants to get better every day.”
While Mahomes was brilliant in the final moments of the game, the Chiefs defense has been the strongest part of the team this season.
“This is a special unit, for the guys in the room, for the relationships we was able to establish, and Spaggs [defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo], man, Spaggs has been amazing,” said defensive tackle Chris Jones.
Reid said his defensive teammates had been determined to change the momentum of the game when the 49ers had taken the lead early in the contest.
“Absolutely. We were going to come out there with some fire. We knew that we needed to set a tempo,” he said. “We were down seven. We knew we needed to get the ball back to our offense. We needed to swing momentum. So [the] guys were dialled in. We didn’t have anyone playing hero ball. We just played tough, physical, fundamentally sound unit defense. And when you have 11 dogs on the field doing that, good things tend to happen. So we were balled in, we were locked in. We were able to make some plays.”
As for Mahomes himself, he was quick to pay tribute to Reid.
“Coach Reid has been the ultimate leader and I got brought in and I just trying to exemplify that, and he keeps pushing to be even better,” said Mahomes, who was also named the game’s MVP. “He brings out the best in me because he lets me be me. I think that’s important. He’s not trying to make me anyone else. I don’t think I’m the quarterback that I am if I didn’t have Coach Reid as my coach. He wants you to be the best person you can be.”
