Patrick Mahomes’ 262-yard passing day was the third-lowest yardage total of any of his previous career playoff starts in which he finished the game.
Patrick Mahomes is known for his big plays and magician-like throws from a variety of arm angles. That panache even earned the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback the nickname of “Showtime.”
But with the NFL’s No.2-ranked defense on his side and knowing the conditions — the fourth-coldest game in NFL history — Mahomes played it conservatively against the injury-plagued Miami Dolphins on Saturday night.
And that was the smart approach.
“You have to. I learned that this year,” Mahomes said. “When it’s not there, you’ve got to be able to throw it underneath and punt the ball and flip the field and not be frustrated with it.”
His 23-of-41, 262-yard day in the 26-7 victory represents the third-lowest yardage total of any of his 15 career playoff starts in which he finished the game.
Contrast his mantra of throwing the ball away to live and see another down to Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who threw an interception in the first quarter to give the Chiefs the ball in Miami territory and lead to a Chiefs’ field goal.
Instead, Mahomes had his first turnover-free game since November.
Perhaps the best example of his risk-averse approach is the three times he wisely threw the ball away on third down, leading to three field goals, knowing that points of any kind would be at a premium on the -4 degree day, which ranked as the coldest in the history of Arrowhead Stadium.
