The Chiefs traded Alex Smith and made Patrick Mahomes their starting quarterback this offseason and it’s hard to ask for a better first outing in his new job than the one Mahomes put together against the Chargers on Sunday.
Mahomes hit Tyreek Hill for a 58-yard touchdown on his third pass of the game, threw for three more scores over the course of the afternoon and the Chiefs opened the year with a 38-28 road win over a divisional rival. Hill said Mahomes was “very comfortable” and “very confident” in the huddle while head coach Andy Reid’s assessment focused on other positives.
“He made plays, and he did it with his legs, he did it with throwing, he did it with checks,” Reid said, via ESPN.com. “I have a lot of respect for [Chargers defensive coordinator] Gus Bradley and his defense. He threw a few things at Mahomes. He got him a few times. But I thought Pat did a nice job of handling it against an experienced and very good defensive coordinator. He’s a unique kid. He’s got to keep working here. He’s just at the beginning of this thing. We’ve got to keep moving forward, taking steps forward.”
Travis Kelce only had one catch and the Chiefs never got Kareem Hunt on track, so there are things to work on in the weeks to come. Given how much the Chiefs were able to do without big contributions from those players, there will likely be some sleepless nights for opposing defensive coordinators in the weeks to come.