Chiefs’ Mahomes can improvise
Forget the rules that guide most NFL quarterbacks. They don’t apply to Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Don’t throw across your body? He did it — and gained nearly 30 yards on a thirdand-long conversion.
Only throw with your dominant hand? That’s for beginners.
Throw the ball away under threat of imminent sack? Nah.
Mahomes knows all the rules, and then he breaks them, rewriting the accepted norms of being an NFL quarterback week after week. In Monday night’s 27-23 win at the Denver Broncos, Mahomes’ knack for being a maverick was on full display.
“You saw it in college, and you’re hoping you see it here,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “(This) was a Monday night game. You’re the only show going. To be able to perform like that when needed, that’s good. He’s got a ton of things he’s got to clean up. He’s got a lot of room to improve, but his improv there got a 10.”
Of course, there was the left-handed throw, the one that he “shot-putted” under pressure to Tyreek Hill to convert a crucial third down on the game-winning drive. Mahomes has a 91.7 passer rating with his left hand, according to ESPN’s Adam Teicher, better than the season passer ratings for Ben Roethlisberger, Jimmy Garoppolo, Derek Carr, Dak Prescott and Baker Mayfield, among others. And all of those guys are throwing with their dominant hands.
“When it came out of his hand I went, ‘Oh, wow,’ ” fullback Anthony Sherman said. “And then he completes Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed all sorts of throws in a win over Denver on Monday night, including a left-handed lob on the game-winning drive.
it. I think at this point, we should just trust him and know that he won’t put us in a bad situation. He’ll just find a way to get the ball to an open receiver.”
The Cleveland Browns placed starting cornerback Terrance Mitchell on injured reserve on Tuesday with a broken right wrist. If he comes back this season, he will need to wait at least eight games to play again.
Each NFL team is allowed to bring as many as two players off IR during the course of a season. Mitchell will be eligible to practice six weeks from Tuesday and play again after he spends eight games on IR. He could return in time to play the final four games beginning Dec. 9 against the Carolina Panthers.
Mitchell suffered a fractured wrist in the second quarter of Sunday's 45-42 overtime loss to the Oakland Raiders while defending a pass
and landing on his right arm.
Cornerbacks E.J. Gaines, TJ Carrie and Briean BoddyCalhoun are candidates to fill in for Mitchell opposite rookie starter Denzel Ward.
Elsewhere, Browns rookie receiver Antonio Callaway pleaded not guilty Sept. 27 to misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession and driving with a suspended license, said his attorney, Kevin Spellacy. Callaway's next court date has yet to be scheduled, Spellacy said.
• New York Jets running back Isaiah Crowell has been fined $13,369 by the NFL for his crude touchdown celebration in Cleveland on Sept. 20. After scoring a touchdown against his former team, Crowell took the football and wiped it against his rear end before firing it into the stands. Crowell has since landed a promotional deal with Dude Wipes — a company that sells a toilet paper substitute for men.