What made the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL over the last three seasons was his uncanny ability to quickly read the defense, settle on the right read and allow his otherworldly arm do the rest.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t even give him time to skim their defense in the Super Bowl.
Whether pushing around the makeshift Chiefs offensive line or blitzing the best quarterback against the blitz all season, Bucs coordinator Todd Bowles’ defense made life miserable for Mahomes on Sunday night. He was 26 of 49 for 270 yards with two interceptions in a 31-9 blowout that denied the Chiefs back-to-back titles.
“That’s the worst I’ve been beaten in a long time,” Mahomes said, “but I’m proud of the way the guys fought.”
It was the first time Mahomes, who led the Chiefs to their first championship in five decades last season, lost a game he started by more than one possession since Nov. 19, 2016, when Texas Tech fell 66-10 to Iowa State.
Just like that night, Mahomes was left hobbling off the field, the beating he endured from the Bucs capping a postseason in which he sustained a concussion against the Cleveland Browns and a turf toe injury that will likely require surgery.
“They had a good game plan,” said Mahomes, whose 52.3 passer rating was by far the worst of his career. “They took away all our deep stuff. They took away the sideline. They did a good job routing to the football and making tackles. We weren’t executing early. I had some miscues. Guys weren’t on the same page.
“But credit to them, man, they played a heck of a game offensively and defensively and they beat us.”
The biggest reason for Mahomes’ struggles, though? The only player on his offensive line in the same position he started the season was center Austin Reiter, and he didn’t fare a whole lot better than the rest of his teammates.
Guard Kelechi Osemele tore up both of his knees early in the season. Right tackle Mitchell Schwartz hurt his back midway through the season. Left tackle Eric Fisher tore an Achilles tendon in the AFC title game. And all of that happened after Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and third-round pick Lucas Niang opted out because of COVID-19.
The Chiefs’ replacement offensive line of career backups and journeyman was no match for the Bucs’ cavalcade of defensive stars.
“We just weren’t on the same page,” Mahomes said. “I wasn’t getting the ball out on time. The receivers were running routes not exactly where I thought they would be at, and the offensive line — they were good sometimes and sometimes they let guys through. When you’re playing a defense like that, you have to be on the same page.”
The Buccaneers set the tone on their opening defensive series, when Shaq Barrett went unblocked to help foil the drive. Later in the quarter, Jason Pierre-Paul got his big mitt on a pass to help force another punt, and Barrett was at it again by forcing a throwaway that led to the Chiefs’ second field goal later in the first half.
Mahomes came into the game with 17 touchdown passes and no interceptions against extra pressure this season, but he missed his first six throws with an interception against the blitzing Buccaneers on Sunday night.
The first time Mahomes did have time to throw, Travis Kelce dropped a third-down pass.
The first-half numbers were striking: Mahomes was 9 of 19 for 67 yards, while counterpart Tom Brady dominated the Chiefs defense for 140 passing yards and three touchdowns in staking the Buccaneers to a 21-6 lead.
“Listen, Todd had a good plan,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, “but I could have done a whole lot better job of putting these guys in a better position to make plays. My guys busted their tails. It just didn’t work for us.”
The Bucs soon pushed the lead to 28-9, and the potent Chiefs offense was powerless to answer.
Barrett ran right through left tackle Mike Remmers for a sack early in the second half, and more pressure led to Mahomes chucking a pass that Antoine Winfield Jr. picked off. In the fourth quarter, Mahomes was flushed so far out of the pocket on fourth down that he had to heave the ball about 50 yards just to get it to the end zone.
The ball wound up bouncing off running back Darrel Williams’ face mask and falling to the turf incomplete.
“To the last snap,” Reid said, “he was trying to win that football game.”
It was just that kind of night for Mahomes. It was that kind of night for the Chiefs.