Jon Gruden’s merry band of football louts began their game against the flamethrowing Kansas City Chiefs yesterday afternoon by surprising everyone and scoring on their first two drives. Derek Carr’s accuracy (as well as a 43-yard pass interference call against Tyrann Mathieu) helped the Raiders to a 10-0 lead after the first quarter. That’s when Patrick Mahomes got to work and shredded the Raiders for 15 of the most dominant minutes you’ll see on a football field all year.
Mahomes’s line in the second quarter alone: 12-for-17 passing for 278 yards and four touchdowns, all of which came from outside the red zone. Only nine NFL teams have more than four touchdown passes through two whole games, and only 11 teams average more than 278 passing yards per game. Witness the destruction.
The most impressive throw of the quarter was ultimately negated by a holding penalty, but look at the pure power on this ball from Mahomes. Attempting to fit a ball like this into a window that is actively being squeezed shut by an onrushing safety is a recipe for a pick, as is doing so while throwing across your body to the far left side of the field while running right, but Mahomes is just so strong it doesn’t matter.
Mahomes has been compared to Steph Curry since breaking out last season, and when he’s playing like he did during yesterday’s second quarter, it’s easy to see what people making that comparison are getting at. The man has an absolute railgun for an arm, and when he’s throwing the ball well the Chiefs can pour on points and wipe away an opponent just as swiftly and ruthlessly as the Warriors can. This is the best show in the NFL.