KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The signature scramble drill batches where imagination, mobility, field awareness and an ability to deliver the football precisely into tight corners of the field at improbable angles.
The cannon-like arm strength to rifle deep passes to strike from everywhere.
And the confidence and experience as a Super Bowl winner and NFL Most Valuable Player.
Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the equivalent of the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the NFL as an elite passing and running presence whose unpredictable style of play allows him to overcome substandard pass blocking and a nagging right ankle injury that briefly endangered his playing status.
And the Texans’ elite defense will be tested severely by all of Mahomes’ multidimensional skill on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. He’s playing and he was removed from the injury report on Thursday, meaning he’s regarded as full-go for this matchup between the 13-1, AFC West champions and top seed in the AFC and the AFC South champion Texans, a 9-5 squad that has leaned heavily on its defensive prowess with the offense faltering for most of this season.
It’s a special challenge the Texans embrace.
“Mahomes is one of the best quarterbacks in the league,” said Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, the architect of the NFL’s fourth-ranked defense. “He has done it for a long time, done it for a really high level. Where he gains most of his success is just keeping plays alive off-schedule. Their receivers and tight ends, they know how to uncover. “They know how to find the open space in zone coverage, sit routes down. It is a true challenge.
“It is going to take everyone, especially our d-line the way they have to work together. You try to keep them contained but it is easier said than done. He still finds a way to escape, finds a way to make plays. It is just going to take a really tremendous effort from everybody. Just being where we are supposed to be, being able to play disciplined football for four quarters.
From Mahomes’ standpoint, it’s about harnessing his mobility despite the ankle injury to beat the Texans with a combination of strategy and precision.
For Mahomes, that starts with running away from a relentless Texans pass rush headlined by Pro Bowl defensive ends Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. They have already combined for 22 1/2 sacks for a Texans defense designed by Ryans to attack the pocket and make quarterbacks uncomfortable.
“I want to be able to move, I want to be able to get out of the way,” Mahomes said. “I mean, this is a good pass rush, a good defense, they fly around. You don’t wanna go out there and put yourself in harms way. I mean, obviously it’s football.
