CLEVELAND -- The Kansas City Chiefs have one of the most prolific offenses in all of the National Football League, and it is powered by second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who has found plenty of ways to get the ball into the hands of skill players like Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce and Kareem Hunt.
But long before Mahomes took the field for the Chiefs, they know how talented he was when they scouted the game film of his days at Texas Tech University.
“I have said this before, (Chiefs General Manager) Brett Veach wore (John) Dorsey and I out about this over this guy,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said in a conference call with the Cleveland media earlier this week. “Every five minutes, he was talking about this guy.
“We both looked at him and go, ‘You know what? This guy is pretty good.’ We ended up taking him. You saw on tape a good football player.”
In eight starts this year for the 7-1 Chiefs, Mahomes completed 187 of his 285 attempts (65.6 percent) for 2,526 yards, an average of 8.9 yards per pass attempt, and 26 touchdowns against just six interceptions. Additionally, Mahomes has rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries.
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Mahomes has proven difficult to bring down behind the line of scrimmage, as he has been sacked just 10 times for 43 lost yards through his first eight starts of the season.
But Mahomes is far from the only good quarterback Reid says fans will see when the Cleveland Browns welcome the Chiefs to FirstEnergy Stadium for an inter-division matchup in Cleveland Sunday.
“You guys are in the same situation,” Reid said of the Browns with rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield. “You have one there that was the same gig. You put on the tape, and it tells you the story. These guys both are heck of a football players.
“The National Football League is very lucky to have both of them. We put on the tape of Patrick, and that tells you the truth right there. Then, we got to know him. We brought him in here and got to know him, and there was nothing not to like, so we took him.”
Initially, the Browns wanted Mayfield to sit behind veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor for the season and learn the NFL game, but that was not meant to be. After Taylor suffered a concussion against the New York Jets, Mayfield came into the game and led the Browns to victory.
Then, two weeks later, Mayfield again led the Browns to victory, this time a 12-9 win over the Baltimore Ravens in overtime. And that on-the-job training is exactly what Mayfield wanted.
On the season, Mayfield has completed 130 of his 223 attempts (58.3 percent) for 1,471 yards and eight touchdowns against six interceptions over the first six games of his NFL career. Additionally, Mayfield has rushed for 91 yards on 15 carries, an average of 6.1 yards per rush.
“He loves to play the game,” Reid said of Mayfield’s competitive spirit. “He has good vision and accuracy. He is a good football player. I think you guys would agree, he loves to play the game. He has done it at every level he has been.
“I think he is going to be a heck of a player.”
Mahomes added, “Baker is an awesome dude. He is a great leader, and he has a ton of passion. His talent is through the roof. He is going to keep getting better every single week. He has already had a lot of success. The sky is the limit for him.”
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