Getty Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks to pass in the second half against the New England Patriots during the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 20, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Third-year Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes opened his 2019 preseason against the Bengals by completing all four of his passes for 66 yards. He appeared for only one drive, which was a 7-play, 83-yard march for a touchdown. He also rushed once for 10 yards.
Kansas City ended the first quarter tied with Cincinnati 7-7. Carlos Hyde punched in the score from one yard out after Mahomes scrambled to the 1-yard line. The quarterback was replaced by veteran backup Chad Henne on the second drive.
One of the more impressive plays was a deep sideline throw to tight end Travis Kelce for 36 yards.
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are back 🎯
(via @NFL)
Head coach Andy Reid said he would split up quarterback duties against the Bengals on a quarters system.
“I do it by quarterbacks, so Patrick [Mahomes] has the first quarter and then Chad [Henne] has the second quarter, [Kyle] Shurmur the third quarter and Chase [Litton] the fourth quarter,” said Chiefs coach Andy Reid, per CBS Sports. “Then the guys fall in. Everybody will play in the game. The main thing is that we get some of the young guys some playing time. You normally cut down the game plan a little bit for this. Just take some of the simpler plays — the easier plays that you’ve run during camp — and let them go out and play.”
This is in contrast to many other star signal-callers throughout the league. Both Derek Carr and Jared Goff aren’t suiting up for the Raiders-Rams contest that’s playing at the same time. The Chiefs fellow AFC West rival Denver Broncos sat Joe Flacco in the Hall of Fame Game last week, as well.
Mahomes, the former first-round pick in 2017, is coming off a record-breaking statistical season. He became just the second quarterback to throw for at least 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in a season (Peyton Manning is the other). He totaled 5,097 passing yards, 50 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions to lead the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game.
He also rushed for 272 yards and two scores. These efforts helped earn him the NFL MVP, a first-team All-Pro selection and the 2019 ESPY for Best NFL Player. He also earned the franchise’s first home playoff victory since 1993 with a 31-13 blowout over the Indianapolis Colts.
Stay tuned for more on the Chiefs preseason debut against the Bengals.
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Patrick Mahomes Stats vs. Bengals in Preseason Opener