Patrick Mahomes on Huge Second-Half: ‘The Guys Kept Believing in Me'
While the Kansas City Chiefs' were able to come away with a 31-13 Week 6 victory over the Washington Football Team, the final score only depicts what happened in the second half. Over those final 30 minutes, the Chiefs outscored Washington 21-0. It was a great half on both sides, but it came after a first half that saw some low points.
The Chiefs' offense turned the ball over three times overall, with a fumble coming from wide receiver Mecole Hardman and a pair of interceptions coming from quarterback Patrick Mahomes. One of them was tipped off the hands of wideout Tyreek Hill, which doesn't fall on Mahomes as far as responsibility goes. Nevertheless, coach Andy Reid's offense struggled to put up points and went into the break down 13-10 after what may have been the worst decision Mahomes has made as a pro. He came right back out in the second half firing, and he thanks his teammates for that.
"I think the biggest thing was the guys kept believing in me," Mahomes said. "That was a big thing to me. Orlando (Brown), Travis (Kelce), Tyreek (Hill), all those guys came right up to me and they were like 'you keep being you.' We know you're competing, we know who you are. Don't let that one thing affect how you play. You saw it in the second half, I kept doing stuff. I kept throwing across my body and doing all of that different type of stuff because I know those guys believe in me. I'm going to keep being that and keep fighting until the end."
On the day, Mahomes completed 32 of his 47 pass attempts for 397 yards and a pair of touchdowns to go with his couple of interceptions. He also ran the ball three times for 31 yards, including a 17-yard scamper to extend a drive. Despite playing poorly in the first half, he bounced back in a big way and mentioned moving on after a turnover as something that helped. It isn't always going to be pretty, and he knows that.
"I move on to the next play," Mahomes said about his thought process after throwing an interception. "In this league, you're going to go through adversity. We've been blessed enough that I haven't had to deal with a lot of that early in my career. I've had a lot of interceptions this year — it's not a secret. You kind of just have to move on, you have to just keep playing. At the end of the day, the interceptions are on the stat sheet but if you're getting wins, no one really cares about them. You have to find a way to win games, no matter what it takes."
It's been a long six games for the Chiefs — a team that currently sits at .500 and holds legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. Getting back in the win column was huge, though, and no win is granted in a league like the NFL. After 30 minutes of action, it looked like Sunday was going to be yet another struggle for one of football's most talented teams. In the end, the Chiefs overcame adversity. That's all Mahomes could ask for from his peers.
"I think the guys really just dug down and played," Mahomes said. "At the end of the day, that's what it takes in this league. Every single week is a battle. They (Washington) have good football players, they have a great defensive line and great defense. But you have to battle. You have to battle to win in this league every single week, and I thought guys did that in the second half. They just went out there together and we just played. At the end of the day, that's what it is. You have to go out there and play, try to execute the plays to the best of your ability and leave everything you have on that field. Whatever the results are at the end of the day, you have to be able to live with that."
The Chiefs can certainly live with their efforts in quarters three and four against Washington. As the team prepares to go to Tennessee for a game against the Titans — a better opponent than the one it faced today — continued improvement will be necessary.
