Patrick Mahomes Delivers Season-Defining Performance in Defeat of Joe Burrow, Bengals

In just five seasons as a starter, Patrick Mahomes has already done just about everything a quarterback can do. He has thrown for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in a season. He has been named the NFL's Most Valuable Player. And he has played in two Super Bowls, winning one.

But Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, Mahomes did something that was impressive even by his ludicrously lofty standards. Playing on a high ankle sprain suffered just one week ago, Mahomes balled out to avenge last year's AFC Championship Game loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Now Mahomes will lead the Chiefs to a third Super Bowl in four years. And in doing so, he added to a legend that was already the stuff Hollywood movies are made of.

He also erased any and all doubt about who the best quarterback in football is.

Leading into Sunday's matchup, Mahomes' ankle was the dominant storyline of the AFC title game. But while Mahomes admitted to reporters that he wasn't 100 percent, he also made it clear that there were no excuses for him not to play well against Cincinnati.

"I think it's just about being a competitor," he said. "All you can do is just mentally prepare yourself and your body throughout the week, and then you get to game day and you just have to focus on the game. That's what I'll try to do is prepare my body the best I can and get to the game and just go out there and play and try to find a way to win.''

For his part, head coach Andy Reid said the impetus was on him and the Chiefs staff to design a game plan that would accentuate what a limited Mahomes could do well while minimizing his need to run on the bad ankle.

"We have enough in the game plan where you can kind of pick and choose where you want to go with it," he said. "You have a variety of things that you can go to. Obviously you don't use all the plays in the game plan, but they're available, so if you have to go a certain direction, you can go that direction with the calls."

For a portion of Sunday's game, that plan showed—and worked to an extent. There was less improvisation and more structure. Mahomes got the ball out quickly. And while the NFL's No. 1 offense in terms of both yards and points per game wasn't as prolific as during the regular season, the Chiefs were doing enough to stay in the game.

Then the football gods decided that just having Mahomes play on one leg wasn't challenging enough. By the second half, Mahomes had lost No. 1 wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. And No. 2 wide receiver Kadarius Toney. And young wideout Mecole Hardman. He was left throwing passes to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, rookie Skyy Moore and a who's who of "who."

OK, and Travis Kelce. He's pretty good. But Kansas City's pass-catching corps was chewed to pieces.

And Mahomes got it done anyway.

By the time the dust settled on not only his best game of the season but also arguably one of the best outings of his career, Mahomes had completed 29 of 43 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. His passer rating of 105.4 was over 35 points higher than Joe Burrow's.

Mahomes outplayed Burrow—it wasn't close. He did so on one good ankle. And when the time came late in the game when he had to take off running, he did.

Yes, Joseph Ossai's unnecessary roughness call put the Chiefs in field-goal range. But it was Mahomes' scramble that netted a first down and would have given the team another chance.

While speaking to Tracy Wolfson of CBS Sports on the postgame telecast, Mahomes said that it was a team win—while taking a not-so-subtle jab at the trash talking the Bengals did earlier in the week.

"I told this team, 'We play together,'" he said. "When we were in the locker room [at halftime], I said, 'We gotta be together.' And this team stepped up against a great football team and we showed that this place is Arrowhead, not 'Burrowhead.'"

To be fair, Mahomes did have help. Kelce moved into a tie with Rob Gronkowski for second place all-time in postseason touchdown receptions with 15. Valdes-Scantling had arguably his best game as a Chief, hauling in six passes for 116 yards and a score. Defensive tackle Chris Jones logged the first two postseason sacks of his career, spearheading a Chiefs pass rush that got to Burrow five times.

But make no mistake, the Kansas City Chiefs are moving on to Super Bowl LVII because Mahomes stood on his head. Period. Full stop.

He's going to have to do even better to win his second championship.

The NFC champion Eagles have steamrolled their way into the Super Bowl, pummeling the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers by a combined score of 69-14. The Eagles paced the NFC in both yards and points per game. Philadelphia was second in the NFL in total defense, was the only team in the league to allow less than 180 yards per game through the air, ranked eighth in points allowed and led the league with a jaw-dropping 70 sacks.

Mahomes will now have two weeks to rest, but he still likely won't be 100 percent for the Super Bowl. Taking on the NFL's No. 1 pass defense with a short-handed wideout corps would be an uphill climb and then some. Two defensive starters (linebacker Willie Gay and cornerback L'Jarius Sneed) were forced from the win over Cincinnati with injuries.

DraftKings has installed the Eagles at two-point favorites—and frankly that feels low.

But Super Bowl LVII is a problem for another day. This day is about celebrating an incredibly gutsy performance by the best quarterback of his generation. Of paying homage to the great Patrick Mahomes.

Besides, as he just showed the Bengals, teams that underestimate Mahomes do so at their own peril—injuries or no.