Chiefs Chronicles: Patrick vs Baker on Monday Night Football Edition- 2024 Season Week 9
This Column is Powered By NyQuil, Mahomes & Mayfield: Origins, The Blowout is Finally Here, The New Fantasy Name, and Whatever Else I Can Cram in Before MNF!!!
This Column is Powered By NyQuil
It’s almost time to watch the Chiefs on Monday Night Football! So why, you may be asking yourself, did I (I mean me, not you, when I say “I”) not start writing this week’s Chiefs Chronicles until after 11 AM on gameday?
If the video and heading references to NyQuil didn’t clue you in, you probably aren’t reading this column. That’s not to say that you don’t exist- I’m fairly certain at least some of you do. Exist and/or read the nonsense I write most weeks.
What I’m trying to say (and the NyQuil may be making that a wee bit more difficult) is that I’m very sick and didn’t get any cold medicine until last night (thank you for the supplies, Butch and Crystal!). Now I’m (legally) drugged-up, a little loopy, and ready to write!
Until the crash (physical- I’m not driving) happens. I’ll try to hurry.
Mahomes & Mayfield: Origins
Tonight we will bear witness to an epic duel (I know that all sounds a bit grandiose, but the NyQuil likes the rhythm of those words) between the Chiefs Patrick Mahomes and the Buccaneers Baker Mayfield- two men who were excellent college QBs, that were drafted accordingly. As you know, Patrick was chosen by the Chiefs tenth overall in the 2017 NFL Draft. Baker (the more highly-touted prospect of the two- I kid you not) was selected first overall by the Browns in the 2018 NFL Draft.
(Note: It sometimes seems like the only time that the Browns have ever nailed a draft was in the movie Draft Day- it’s sad when the Browns fans start chanting “Super Bowl! Super Bowl!” and it only gets sadder by the year.)
Here are their respective NFL.com Draft Profiles:
And what does that prove to us, class?
Say it with me: “Most draft ‘experts’ and ‘gurus’ are no better at predicting future NFL stars than your average weather forecaster would be at predicting next year’s weather. They’re both, at best, just making educated guesses.”
Why were so many “experts” higher on Mayfield than Mahomes? The answer to that question can answered (sort of) by looking at their college careers and the two times they faced each other in their pre-NFL days.
The 2014 Texas Tech Red Raiders began their season with Davis Webb as their starting at QB. Webb started the first 8 games that season before suffering a season-ending ankle injury against TCU. Patrick Mahomes II, a lightly-recruited freshman QB from Tyler, Texas, came in after Webb’s injury (midway through the third quarter) and went 5/11 for 45 yards with 1 TD & 1 INT.
He was named the starter for the Red Raiders next game versus the Texas Longhorns.
It would be a massive understatement to say that his first start didn’t go well.
Here are his first six drives as the Red Raiders QB:
3 Plays for 8 yards- Punt
6 Plays for 26 yards- Punt
6 Plays for 13 yards- Punt
10 Plays for 56 yards- Missed FG (29-yard attempt)
3 Plays for 2 yards- Punt
3 Plays for 14 yards- Fumble (Mahomes)
There wouldn’t be a seventh drive. The huge hit by Texas CB Quandre Diggs that caused Mahomes to fumble the ball with about 9 minutes left in the second quarter, also knocked him out for the rest of the game. He finished that season with 4 starts and 7 appearances for a bad Texas Tech Team.
(Note: Interestingly, his replacement for the rest of the Texas game was none other than Vincent Testaverde Jr. and all of us over 40-45 remember his dad.
Wait a second now.
Vinnie Sr. played for the Browns once upon a time. Just like Baker Mayfield played for the Browns. Vinnie also started his career in Tampa Bay, where Baker is currently QB1. The crazy connections between everyone involved in this NyQuil driven monstrosity that I’m writing are starting to trip me out! )
By the time the 2015 CFB season rolled around, Patrick Mahomes had become the starting QB for the Red Raiders. One site had him ranked (in the preseason) as the fourth best QB in the Big 12 behind such luminaries as TCU’s Trevone Boykin, OSU’s Mason Rudolph, and Baylor’s Seth Russell (who the heck is Seth Russell?).
Elsewhere in the Big 12, Baker Mayfield was the starting QB for the eventual #5 ranked Oklahoma Sooners (the Sooners were also ranked the #3 overall CFB program from 2003-2023) and was either first or second in nearly every CFB QB ranking list from the time. He had previously started 8 games for Texas Tech as a walk-on freshman in 2013 (I was not aware of that), but when he decided to transfer to Oklahoma the Red Raiders blocked him from playing in 2014. Seems pretty petty.
The first time Mahomes’ Texas Tech Red Raiders faced off against Mayfield’s Oklahoma Sooners in 2015, it wasn’t much of a game. Mayfield just played alright (15/22 for 212 yards with 2 TDs & 1 INT) but was supported by a powerful rushing attack that put up over 400 yards on the ground (led by current Chiefs RB Samaje Perine and Texans RB Joe Mixon).
Mahomes, on the other hand, didn’t have a good game. The Red Raiders defense was being repeatedly gashed by the Sooners running backs (who scored a combined 7 rushing TDs on the day), so Mahomes and the offense were trying to play catch-up all game. He finished with this depressing stat line: 26/40 for 233 yards with 1 TD & 4 INTs
The final score was a laugher, 63-27 in favor of Oklahoma.
Mayfield- 1 Mahomes- 0
(Note: Texas Tech ended that 2015 season with a record of 7-6, which was good for a sixth place finish in the Big 12. It was the only winning season for the Red Raiders when Mahomes was there.)
Mahomes vs Mayfield 2 came during the 2016 CFB season and it was maybe the greatest QB duel in college football history. I won’t bore you with a recap or a play-by-play because nothing I could write can top just watching the highlights- whether you’ve seen them or not, it’s well worth your time.
Needless to say, Baker and the (much superior) Sooners narrowly defeated Patrick and the Red Raiders by a score of 66-59.
Mayfield- 2 Mahomes- 0
Despite losing the game, Patrick Mahomes had shown the world exactly what he was capable of doing on the football field. He finished that season with this sparkling stat line:
388/591 for 5052 yards with 41 TDs & 10 INTs (Also: 131 rushes for 285 yards & 12 TDs)
Somewhere in Missouri, Brett Veach was fanatically watching Patrick Mahomes highlights and telling everyone who would listen that this Texas Tech gunslinger was going to be the next great NFL QB.
(Note: I meant to make this column longer but I have completely run out of time. Trying to get it published in the next half hour. Maybe I’ll try to expand it in a Chiefs Chronicles/Remix sometime in the future.)
The Blowout is Finally Here
Every week I predict a blowout.
Every week I’ve been wrong.
And yet, each and every week the Chiefs have won, and the last two wins seemed to be trending towards the blowout zone. It appears my system ain’t broke, so I’ve decided not to try and fix it.
My feeling is that the Offense finally gets on track and earns that capital “O” and the Defense goes completely bananas (see above GIF⬆️) and gets at least one TD.
Final Score Prediction: Chiefs 35-10 over the Bucs
The New Fantasy Name
Being sick made creating a new name this week very difficult. Still, I like the one I came up with. If you’ve been reading this portion of Chiefs Chronicles lately, you’ll notice that I lost again. Poor lineup choices and I lost by about 14 points. That’s all I have to say about that.
For this week, as long as Kelce, Worthy, Butker, and the Chiefs Defense have solid games I am slated to win handily.
Thanks, as always, for reading. The only thing left to say is:
GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
