How Patrick Mahomes has reinvented himself since last Chiefs Super Bowl vs. 49ers

Kansas City Chiefs pass game coordinator Joe Bleymaier says he had flashbacks during the AFC Championship Game two weeks ago.

From his spot in the coach’s box, Bleymaier watched Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes surgically move his team down the field in the first half. No passes looked forced. Almost nothing looked difficult.

And Bleymaier couldn’t help but think back to some of the vintage performances by quarterback Tom Brady against the Chiefs — including in the 2018 season’s AFC Championship Game, when the Patriots won 37-31 in overtime.

Being on the other side when a quarterback is in that short-passing groove? Bleymaier knows it’s no fun at all.

“When somebody else is making it look so easy, you’re looking at your own call sheet or your own offense, and it’s like, ‘Man, do we have anything that is that easy? How do they get just all these completions?” Bleymaier said. “We’re pulling our hair out for 10-yard completions, and they’re just checking it down, and there’s nobody in space. So yeah, it’s just stressful.”

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The fascinating part about Mahomes and these Chiefs entering Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers: This isn’t who they used to be at all.

And it certainly wasn’t how they were successful when these two teams met four years ago in Super Bowl LIV.

Mahomes, since then, has transformed his game from a deep-throw artist to a short-throw manipulator. In the process, he’s only added to a postseason run of success — while playing the game in a completely different way.

“He’s just doing what he’s got to do,” Chiefs quarterbacks coach David Girardi said, “and he’s evolving his game.”

Rarely, though, is a player able to change this drastically — and also this quickly.

A notable dip (in one stat)

Mahomes says this is all part of adapting to what’s across from him.

Last season continued that trend: Defenses were shifting their players back, looking to force KC to be perfect on longer-play drives.

“I think we just adjusted and coaches did a good job of teaching me when I need to take those short ones and move the chains,” Mahomes said in training camp this season. “They came up with great concepts that really took advantage of that.”

This season has only further pushed the Chiefs into a new world — and also into an extreme passing offense unlike most others in the league.

One measure — average depth of target (aDOT) — provides the evidence, as the statistic details how far downfield an average throw goes.

Mahomes ranked fifth among 32 quarterbacks (with 250 passing attempts) during his first year as a starter in 2018, as his average throw sailed 9.2 yards downfield, per Pro Football Reference.

That number has only declined — and sharply — ever since. Mahomes was 10th in aDOT during the 2019 Super Bowl season (8.8 yards per throw) before having that total fall to 8.4, 7.3 and 7.2 the next three years.

This year has been even more drastic. Mahomes’ average throw is down to 6.5 yards, ranking 30th out of 31 QBs; only Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow was lower.

“Pat’s learned how to play as a different quarterback — not a game manager — but a different quarterback. He’s still winning,” Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. “And I think it’s been good for him.

“I think this is going to be good for Pat for his career, to be able to learn that, ‘Hey, I don’t have to score 40 points every game, throw for 5,000 yards and 50, 60 touchdowns. We can win this way, too.’”

‘He’s just adapted to winning’

So why the dramatic shift?

Some of this, understandably, goes back to personnel. Because Mahomes was on his rookie contract early in his career, the Chiefs had more resources to go out and get downfield weapons like receiver Sammy Watkins. That, and Tyreek Hill was in top form while sprinting past deep defenders with his top-end speed.

Part of it, though, is Mahomes trusting his coaches.

Bleymaier said each season, a staff builds off of plays that are successful early. This year, the Chiefs found a groove with heavy personnel and shorter passes, which led to KC’s staff branching off to create complements to those plays.

The playbook, then, has molded itself to what works. And Mahomes has been just fine doing his part.

“He’s just adapted to winning,” Bleymaier said. “And then that’s sometimes correlated to the depth of target. But I think it’s been more like, ‘Hey, this is what we’ve got to do to win this week.’”

And Bleymaier says the AFC Championship Game is a perfect example of Mahomes following through on the script.

The Ravens’ game-plan

When preparing for the game, the Chiefs coaches didn’t see many vulnerabilities in the Ravens’ top-ranked defense over the regular season.

So the game-plan was this: Flood their zone coverages with receivers. Put two eligible guys in specific zone locations — those for linebacker Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen and safety Kyle Hamilton on certain plays — then keep things simple after that.

If the Ravens defend the deeper guy, throw short and make them tackle.

“We were gonna take,” Bleymaier said, “what they were gonna give us.”

An NFL Films video posted after the game reflected this mindset. After a touchdown drive on the sideline, coach Andy Reid walks over to Mahomes, saying, “Way to read them. Keep reading them.”

“I’m going to keep hitting that stuff in the flats,” Mahomes replied, “and keep dotting them and bringing them (the defenders) up.”

Winning with his mind

Bleymaier says an important point to know is that the Chiefs don’t view “checkdown” in a negative light. Often, checking down is labeled by analysts as a last-ditch option, or one that is less desirable.

For KC, the checkdown option is often just part of Mahomes’ progression. The coaches are basically telling Mahomes, “These are the three options. Whichever one is open based on how the defense plays, throw it there.”

And if that’s the player on the shortest route? So be it.

“If you can take a completion on the line of scrimmage and have (running back Isiah) Pacheco fall forward for three yards, that’s a positive play,” Bleymaier said. “And hopefully, if we can keep that going and keep everybody on schedule, it’ll lead to some bigger ones.”

All this takes some maturity. Even during his standout playoff performances this season, Mahomes’ numbers aren’t as eye-popping as they were in the past.

That doesn’t mean he’s been playing worse. CBS broadcaster Tony Romo spoke to this in a conference call with reporters last week, saying Mahomes used to be a young quarterback who would hang on his reads to Hill and tight end Travis Kelce while relying on them to get open eventually.

Now, though, Romo says Mahomes’ understanding of football has “gone up multiple levels.”

“He’s really gotten beneath the game where he’s understood it,” Romo said. “And so he has the ability now to win the game with his mindset.”

A new way

Bleymaier has seen this type of formula win playoff games.

That quarterback was an old foe — one of the greatest of all time, winning ruthlessly with efficiency.

On the verge of a third Super Bowl title, Mahomes is prevailing in a new way. It’s less glamorous but potentially more unstoppable, with only the game’s greats having succeeded in this particular fashion.

Bleymaier knows this much: Going against this type of QB — in the playoffs — can often feel hopeless on the other end.

“It’s a great compliment to Pat and Tom Brady,” Bleymaier said, “when you make an offense look that easy.”

The Star’s Pete Grathoff contributed to this story.