The Chiefs said all offseason they were willing to live with some mistakes from Patrick Mahomes, because they were convinced he’d make enough plays to make it worthwhile.
In his first start with the job all his own, he was able to avoid the mistakes, and make enough plays to cruise to a ninth-straight head-to-head win over the Chargers — making it the best possible outcome.
Mahomes was closer to efficient than eye-popping, but kept the ball in the hands of his playmakers as the Chiefs beat the Chargers 38-28.
Mahomes was 15-of-27 for 256 yards and four touchdowns, and didn’t turn the ball over. And with the Chargers making their share of mistakes, that was enough.
Chiefs wideout Tyreek Hill hit the trifecta, catching a long touchdown pass (a 58-yarder), a short pass (a 1-yard flick which was punctuated with a back flip) and a punt return (91 yards to start the scoring).
The Chargers had some bright moments (including the return of Antonio Gates who caught a touchdown), but dropped too many passes. A late muffed punt didn’t help, but by that point, the Chiefs had established themselves. There was also a missed field goal, bringing back bad memories for the Chargers.
But on the other side, the future was bright. While there will doubtless be harder days for Mahomes, Sunday was all they could have asked for.