KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs insist that they are not thinking about last year's opener against Detroit, when they celebrated their latest Super Bowl triumph with a flag-raising ceremony and were promptly beaten by the Lions.
Patrick Mahomes is chief among them.
The three-time Super Bowl MVP had by far the worst Week 1 performance of his career that night, completing barely more than 50% of his passes for just 226 yards with his fewest touchdown passes (two) and first interception in six season openers.
Makes sense that Mahomes has tried to wash away his memory of the Lions with the Ravens awaiting him Thursday night.
“I don't think last year's too much on your mind,” Mahomes said. “You're so focused on trying to get better, and we're playing the best of the best Week 1. We're going to see where we're at. We're going to have to go out there and play our best football early in the season. All we can do is go out there and be our best.”
That is more the norm for Mahomes in Week 1 — the best of his best — and it is an exceedingly high bar. He had never lost a season opener until running into Detroit, winning his first five as the starting quarterback in Kansas City. He had completed at least 75% of his passes in four of those games, averaged 308 yards and thrown for 18 TD passes without a pick.
He was just 21 of 39 for 226 yards in the 21-20 loss to the Lions.
“You don't want to get pushed around. I think that's the biggest thing,” Mahomes said of Week 1 games, and playing the Ravens in particular. “Whenever you play teams like this, you want to make sure you match their physicality. We're fast, and we've got guys that run around, but we pride ourselves on being physical as well, so it's going to be a great challenge, man.”
Something else that Mahomes tries not to think about: his place in history.
He's completed more passes for more yards and more touchdown passes than any quarterback in NFL history though 96 starts, and every game he seems to climb another historical chart.
One big step will likely come Thursday night, when Mahomes — with 28,424 yards passing — needs just 84 to pass Hall of Famer Len Dawson for the career franchise record.
“It's a little bit different game now with the passing the way it is,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, "but he has so much respect for Len before Len passed. They had a relationship there. They talked. The game's just — it's a little different. There's just a little bit more passing that goes on now. At the college — all levels really, you start at the little kid's level and on up through high school and college, and the ball is being thrown more. It's a compliment to Pat because he does it the right way.
“As great as he is,” Reid said, “he's a humble guy and respects the things that happened before him. He gets it."
Mahomes tends to rise to the occasion, the bigger the game the bigger his performance. It's a big reason why the two-time NFL MVP has led the Chiefs to six consecutive AFC championship games, reached four Super Bowls and won three of them.
That includes this past season, when the Chiefs had to beat the Ravens on the road to win their latest conference title.
And while nobody mistakes Week 1 for the playoffs, the spotlight nevertheless shines a little more brightly than typical games.
The Chiefs will once again raise a championship banner Thursday night, and the eyes of the NFL will fall squarely on Arrowhead Stadium for the game that raises the curtain on the regular season.
“It's just a great opportunity for the guys, to see what it's like to be on the biggest stage,” Mahomes said. "You want to play in the Super Bowl at the end of the year, but this is a big stage as well. To be able to get that experience, play a great football team I am excited for these guys to get out there, and the guys who haven’t been here, see what it’s like to be on that type of stage.”
NOTES: The Chiefs put RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire on the non-football illness list, meaning he will miss the first four games. ... WR Hollywood Brown (shoulder) did not practice Monday, though Reid has already said he will miss Week 1. ... Special teams coach Dave Toub said that FB Carson Steele, RB Samaje Perine and WRs Mecole Hardman, Skyy Moore and Xavier Worthy are options for kickoff returns. Hardman, Worthy and Moore are the most likely choices to return punts.