Broncos pass rusher Von Miller looked a little shellshocked after Monday night’s game.
Miller shook his head as he talked to the media about the way Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes continued to make plays, no matter how well the Broncos pressured him.
“He’s tough. He’s fast. We’ve got to get him down. Plain and simple, he’s fast, he can run all day, buy time, especially to the right, he can run 20 yards deep and then throw the ball 40 yards. He’s a great quarterback,” Miller said.
Perhaps the most impressive play Mahomes made came when Miller was pressuring him from his right. The right-handed Mahomes scrambled to his left, saw Tyreek Hill open, and wanted to pass. But Mahomes knew that Miller was closing in on him, and if he drew back his arm to pass, Miller would swipe the ball away. So Mahomes switched the ball into his left hand and tossed it to Hill.
Everyone knows Mahomes has all the physical tools, but plays like that show a mentality that few players have. And that’s why Mahomes is so hard to sack. Against the Broncos, Mahomes threw 45 passes and was only sacked once -- and that time he was able to scramble toward the line of scrimmage and didn’t lose any yardage. Overall this season, Mahomes has lost just 11 yards on sacks, meaning he gains an average of 109 passing yards for every yard he loses on a sack. Last season, Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith lost 207 yards on sacks, meaning he only gained 20 yards passing for every yard he lost on a sack. And the Chiefs’ five offensive linemen this year were all on the team last year.
It’s easy to see why a great pass rusher like Miller views Mahomes as a great quarterback.