CLEVELAND, Ohio – Patrick Mahomes watched the Browns reach the Steelers, 48-37, on Sunday night and knows that the Chiefs will be busy on Sunday afternoon in the divisional round at Arrowhead.
“I practically watched everything,” said Mahomes on Monday at KCSP 610 Sport Radio. “Obviously at the end you could say that we were going to play against them, so try to watch that and I’ll watch a lot in the film today, so I’m excited about the opportunity to play against a really good football team. ”
Mahomes obviously does not share the sentiment of his recipient Sammy Watkins, who responded to a fan on Twitter noting that he would be competitive with the Browns saying “I wouldn’t go that far lol …!”
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“We know that we will have to play our best football if we want to beat a really good football team,” said Mahomes.
With the Chiefs resting their holders and then having a goodbye in the first round as number 1, Sunday will mark 21 days since Mahomes and other stars set foot in a game.
“You just need to get ready to go,” he said. “We have been practicing. We have done things to be ready. In the end, it all comes down to stepping on that football field and playing. I know our guys are ready to go. We will go around with that mentality and we will fight for 60 less or as long as it takes. ”
He knows that the Chiefs will have to move to another level on Sunday, especially considering that they have won five games by just three points or less this season.
“You have to do this,” he said. “Whenever you are in the postseason, no matter how you are playing in the regular season, the postseason is different. Everyone will fight. Everyone will do their best. For us, we have to count on our experience from last year and the year before and then count on our boys in the locker room to intensify their game and play even better. … It’s winning or going home, so you have to go there and put everything at risk every time you’re on the field. ”
As he watched the Browns jump to a 28-0 lead over the Steelers, Mahomes recalled that they did not want to be left behind as they did last year for the Texans in the divisional round – losing 24-0 about 19 minutes before scoring. 41 consecutive points to win 51-31 and advance in the AFC championship game. They also recovered from a 17-7 handicap to beat the Titans 35-24 in the AFC Championship Game.
“We want to win in every possible way, but we want to try to make things a little easier than last year,” said Mahomes. “You have to find a way to fight, especially playing with a team like this, who can throw the ball, obviously, but there are those two great running backs who can run the ball and love to hit it and get a big advantage. For us, we want to start fast. We have to be better than what we did in the last postseason … in addition, I think our defense will be able to accept the challenge also against a really good attack that is hitting all cylinders now. ”
Unlike JuJu Smith-Schuster and others who respected the Browns this postseason, Mahomes knows what they are up against.
“It’s playoff football,” he said. “Everyone will fight at the end of the day, everyone will do their best, everyone knows if they want to continue playing next week. … That’s what’s so great about the NFL: anyone can beat anyone on any day. ”
Mahomes is also looking forward to facing Baker Mayfield for the fourth time since his college days, with the hope of finishing his 2-2 record.
Mayfield beat Mahomes twice in college when he was Oklahoma and Mahomes was at Texas Tech – Mayfield’s first school – including the famous shooting in 2016, won 66-59 by Mayfield’s Sooners.
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“Baker hosted me on my official visit to Texas Tech, so I visited Texas Tech and got to see them play, but I got there when he was transferred to Oklahoma and we never crossed paths like that, but great guy, ” said Mahomes. “I still talk to him today. He’s a great guy, a great player, obviously, a great leader on the team. ”
Mahomes acknowledged that the 66-59 shooting was one of the most memorable games he has ever played. He completed 52 of 88 attempts for 734 yards and 5 TDs to set an FBS record for passing yards. Mayfield set a record in Oklahoma with 7 TD passes and the two combined QBs for 1,279 passing yards – mostly in a college football game.
“It was crazy,” said Mahomes. “They had a very good football team, obviously, we were going and we wanted to fight. We were playing at home and we fought until the end. Obviously, they were able to come out on top, but we were able to present a very memorable game that many people still talk about today. ”
As for the position of the game, “it’s definitely there. Probably the one, the AFC championship we lost, the AFC championship we won and more – the Super Bowl. ”
Mayfield admired Mahomes so much, he said before his meeting here in 2018 that he believed Mahomes should have been the No. 1 overall choice in 2017, ahead of Myles Garrett.
“Talent-wise, I thought he should have – I love Myles, but …”, he said then with a smile. “Coming from the Texas Tech system, there are always skeptics, people doubting the fact that all he did was sit there and throw the ball. He played 88 times in our game (a 66-59 Oklahoma win over Texas Tech), but ultimately, throwing the ball is throwing the ball, and he’s very good at it. “
Mayfield recognized that he was envious of Mahomes’ cannon arm.
For sure, ”said Mayfield. “There was a move in that college game, he rolled to the left, flicked and was about 65 in the air for a touchdown, behind the end zone. It does things that you don’t even think would be possible. “
Mahomes’ admiration for Mayfield is mutual.
“His talent is on high, ” Mahomes said in a conference call ahead of the 2018 meeting.“ He’s going to get better and better every week and he’s been very successful and the sky is the limit for him. ”
Chiefs coach Andy Reid is impressed with Mayfield this season in Kevin Stefanski’s game-action scheme.
“He matured in the field,” Reid said at a news conference on Monday. “I think he really fell in love with this scheme and dominated it, so it’s going very well. It is not an easy thing to do when you have been given a few different things as a young defender, a few different schemes to try to be the best. This is not easy for many of these defenders. A lot of guys get lost in it and it looks like he really has done it and done a good job. “
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