Analysis: Patrick Mahomes set up to become an unlikely Las Vegas villain

By Case Keefer (contact)

Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020 | 2 a.m.

Patrick Mahomes came off as more concerned with capturing the moment at Super Bowl Opening Night than the scores of fans who paid thousands of dollars to travel from Kansas City to follow him.

As soon as the reigning NFL MVP and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback walked out into the open Monday night at Marlins Park, he had his iPhone in hand, panning it across the bleachers and corralling teammates for selfies. Mahomes had only a few minutes on the stage in the outfield before an hourlong media session began, and he was going to make the most of it.

“To be in this moment, you don’t know if you’re ever going to be back, so I’m going to maximize that,” Mahomes said. “Obviously I want to be back here and play in multiple Super Bowls, but every opportunity; you know how hard it is.”

The record-setting 24-year-old makes it look easy, though, which is why local fans should feel a great deal of peril. No player will have more of an impact on whether the newly minted Las Vegas Raiders can reach their championship goals.

Even with advantages like some of the best facilities in the league and the free agent draw of no state income tax, the Raiders will have no clear path to success as long as they share a division with Mahomes. He’s poised to become the next great Las Vegas sports villain, a role that seems to be a rather unnatural fit.

With Mahomes, there’s no buttoned-up arrogance like with infamous UNLV foes Mike Krzyzewski and Christian Laettner in the 1990s. There’s no crass disregard like with more recent Golden Knights’ enemies Evander Kane and Drew Doughty.

If fans are to find anything annoying about Mahomes, it would be the cardinal sin of … excessive kindness? Mahomes’ mood on his first Super Bowl Opening Night — which replaced the traditional media day format three years ago — was a lot like his play on the field. He was joyful, flinging answers to questions in every direction like they were footballs intended for open receivers.

The monotonous nature of opening night for a star like Mahomes is not supposed to be fun. San Francisco counterpart Jimmy Garoppolo presided over a media gathering about a third of the size of Mahomes’ for most of his session and understandably furrowed his brow and answered questions shorter once he fielded them for the fifth or sixth time.

Mahomes never did, no matter how many times he had to praise the 49ers’ defense, discuss his pregame rituals and eulogize Kobe Bryant. He never stopped smiling. And when pressed to talk about himself, he found a way to deflect.

“We get in grooves sometimes where I feel like everything Coach (Andy) Reid is calling is open and the guys are getting open on every route,” Mahomes said. “I’ve been blessed that I have a lot of great weapons around me, a great coach in Coach Reid and Coach (Eric) Bieniemy calling plays and I’m able to go out there and maximize my opportunities when I get them.”

The Raiders already know all too much about the way Mahomes’ capitalizes. The Chiefs have won all four games against the Raiders with Mahomes behind center by a combined score of 132-82. Mahomes has thrown for 1,194 yards and 11 touchdowns to one interception in those contests. So, no one in silver and black was surprised when he took the Chiefs from a 24-0 deficit to a 51-31 win over the Texans in the AFC divisional round. Or when he was just as perfect in a 35-24 win over the Titans in the AFC Championship Game.

The Raiders have seen it twice a year for the last two years and will continue to see it twice a year with the move to Las Vegas. If Mahomes is as he seems, the true heir apparent to the Patriots’ Tom Brady as the long-running best quarterback in the NFL, then the hurt will only get worse.

There’s a reason the Patriots have won the AFC East 16 straight seasons with Brady healthy, while only one other franchise in the division (the New York Jets) has won a playoff game in the span. The AFC West could be headed to a similar fate.

But instead of Brady’s fiery demeanor and icy scowl, it would be behind Mahomes’ overwhelming cool and contagious glee. The closest thing to a controversy with Mahomes or sign that he felt jilted was in week 16 at the end of a 26-3 victory over the Chicago Bears when he celebrated a touchdown pass to Travis Kelce by counting to 10 on his fingers.

It was perceived as a reference to his relatively low selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, though Mahomes steadfastly denied it. Much like his teammates steadfastly deny any suggestion that his attitude is anything but authentic.

“He shows his personality every day,” Kelce said. “He’s as genuine as they come and that’s what I love about him.”

The first official Super Bowl event of Mahomes’ career ended back on stage with a short roundtable discussion alongside Hall of Famer and NFL Network personality Deion Sanders and Garoppolo. Looking to stir some antagonism, Sanders asked Garoppolo if Mahomes was, “really that good.”

Garoppolo wasn’t having it.

“He’s unbelievable,” Garoppolo said. “You’ve watched the tape.”

Not able to contain his excitement yet again, Mahomes slid side to side in his seat and grinned. There was such childlike bliss in the motion that it looked like he may blush.

As Las Vegas is soon to know all too well, Mahomes is the most amiable adversary.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.