Patrick Mahomes’ teammates were full of praise for their quarterback on Sunday night as he led them to a second straight Super Bowl title and their third championship in five years.
In all three of these wins, Mahomes has helped his team come back from a 10-point deficit. And his performance in the Kansas City Chiefs’ 25-22 win over the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas was no surprise to those who played alongside him.
“I think I’m taking it for granted at this point,” Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said. “But I know we’re in every game I’ve ever played with (Mahomes), no matter the score, no matter how much time is left, that guy’s got magic in his right arm, man, and he can just – he’s found ways to propel us forward, even with his legs, as you saw today.
Mahomes led the Chiefs on a touchdown drive in overtime to earn the victory. Cornerback L’Jarius Sneed said he had no doubt the 28-year-old would come out on top.
“I believe in Pat, and Pat we trust,” Sneed said. “And with coach (Andy) Reid, I knew they were going to go down and score the ball.”
Chiefs Safety Justin Reid paid tribute to his quarterback’s character.
“There’s no facade there,” he said. “(Mahomes) comes to work every day with humility. He wants to get better every day.”
While Mahomes was brilliant in the final moments of the game, the Chiefs’ defense has been the strongest part of the team this season.
“This is a special unit, for the guys in the room, for the relationships we were able to build, and Spaggs (defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo), man, Spaggs was great,” defensive tackle Chris Jones said.
Reid said his defensive teammates were determined to change the momentum of the game once the 49ers took the lead early in the game.
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“Absolutely. We were going to come out there with some fire. We knew we had to set a pace,” he said. “We were down by seven. We knew we had to get the ball back into the attack. We had to change the momentum So (the) guys got called. There was no one playing hero ball. We just played tough, physical and fundamentally sound unit defense. And when you have eleven dogs on the field doing that, usually good things happen. So we were thrown in, we were locked in. We were able to make a few plays.”
As for Mahomes himself, he was quick to pay tribute to Reid.
“Coach Reid has been the ultimate leader and I was brought in and I’m just trying to be an example of that and he continues to push to be even better,” said Mahomes, who was also named the game’s MVP. “He brings out the best in me because he lets me be myself. I think that’s important. He’s not trying to make me into someone else. I don’t think I would be the quarterback I am if I didn’t have Coach Reid as my coach. He wants you to be the best person you can be.”