Injured Mahomes looked on as Rodgers shredded the Chiefs
So, there was this quarterback playing at Arrowhead Stadium who zipped sidearm passes and evaded defenders and completed throws that peers wouldn’t even consider trying. And it vexed the Kansas City Chiefs.
“I would imagine that’s what it feels like when Pat’s on the other side for opposing defenses,” right tackle Mitchell Schwartz said.
Patrick Mahomes’ closest stylistic analogue is the Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, whose improvisational brilliance has captivated the NFL since Mahomes was in junior high school.
As Rodgers shredded the Chiefs on Sunday night, summoning his superior powers of extemporization in a three-touchdown performance, Mahomes, out with a dislocated kneecap, loitered on the Kansas City sideline, hands in his pockets, powerless to alter the outcome.
The version of the Chiefs that lost, 31-24, to Green Bay is both formidable and yet a modest imitation of what they thought they were, and hope they still might become.
In place of Mahomes, the Chiefs (5-3) started a quarterback, Matt Moore, who in late August was coaching at a California high school. They also played without five other starters, including two on the left side of their offensive line.
That group led the estimable Packers (7-1) at halftime and later tied the score with 9 minutes remaining.
In the zero-sum NFL, there are no mitigating factors. Still atop the AFC West, by a game-and-a-half over Oakland, the Chiefs (5-3) filed into their locker room silently, ruing their penalties, their drops, their inconsistency.
They recognize that they are far more turbocharged with Mahomes at the helm, but also that they must figure out a way to win without him.
Indeed the Chiefs’ season did not vaporize when Mahomes dislocated his right kneecap on a quarterback sneak at Denver. He returned to practice less than a week later, and before Sunday’s game, he flitted around a pretend pocket, dropping back and firing passes.
The Chiefs haven’t publicly assigned Mahomes’ recovery a timeline, but this regime does not want to be remembered for compromising the health of the most mesmerizing player in franchise history.
Just two months ago, Moore, in his 11th season, was coaching quarterbacks at his alma mater, Hart High in Santa Clarita. Then the Chiefs called.
No training camp, no preseason. Before replacing Mahomes in Denver, Moore had taken all of nine snaps this season. “Watching Pat, it’s easy to want to play like him,” Moore said last week. “Which I can’t.”
But what Moore can provide — what he did provide Sunday night — is a certain familiarity with doing what is asked of him, what is required. On the sideline, Mahomes aided him, sharing what he saw.
“He told me everything that came to his mind,” said Moore, who completed 24 of 36 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns. “I told him, ‘Don’t hold anything back. You be you.’ ”
CHARGERS FIRE OC WHISENHUNT >> The Los Angeles Chargers fired offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt on Monday night, shaking up the coaching staff after a disappointing first half of the season.
Coach Anthony Lynn said in a statement that it was not an easy decision to let go of Whisenhunt, but that he felt a change was necessary. Lynn did not name an interim coordinator, but he did run Buffalo’s offense during most of the 2016 season.
The Chargers are 3-5 after beating the Chicago Bears 17-16 on Sunday. FLACCO SEASON IN JEOPARDY >> Broncos quarterback Joe Flacco has a herniated disk in his neck that puts his season and possibly his career in jeopardy and leaves Denver’s dysfunctional offense in the hands of a trio of quarterbacks who have never taken a regular-season snap in the NFL.
Coach Vic Fangio only ruled out Flacco for next weekend, when the Broncos (2-6) host the Cleveland Browns (2-5).
STEELERS WAKE UP, UPEND DOLPHINS >> The Pittsburgh Steelers stopped beating themselves long enough to keep the Miami Dolphins winless.
James Conner ran for 145 yards and a touchdown, and Mason Rudolph overcame a shaky start to throw for 251 yards and two scores as the Steelers pulled away for a 27-14 victory on Monday night.
Pittsburgh (3-4) spotted the Dolphins (0-7) a 14-point first quarter lead before steadying itself to win consecutive games for the first time since ripping off six straight in the middle of last season. Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, acquired in a trade with Miami last month, picked off Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick twice, and Pittsburgh forced four turnovers in all to avoid an embarrassing loss that would have effectively ended the competitive portion of its season.
Rudolph completed 20 of 36 passes, including a 45yard touchdown to rookie Diontae Johnson.
JETS TRADE DL WILLIAMS TO GIANTS >> The Jets traded defensive lineman Leonard Williams to the Giants for a third-round draft pick next year and a fifth-rounder in 2021, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal.
Williams was the No. 6 overall pick of the Jets in 2015 and made the Pro Bowl in his second season, but never truly lived up to his lofty draft status. BROWNS DEAL AVERY TO EAGLES >> Cleveland agreed to trade linebacker/defensive end Genard Avery to the Philadelphia Eagles for a fourth-round 2021 pick.