‘Quarterback’ series illuminates a key Patrick Mahomes trait in joust with Maxx Crosby
If you’ve become consumed with Mahomes-ology these last few years, you know a few truths to be self-evident about the unique and transformational force that has changed everything for the Chiefs … and even Kansas City’s self-image, in certain ways.
You know Patrick Mahomes has an uncanny sense of where he is and what’s around him at all times. He’s blessed with what amounts to a photographic memory among all the other traits that make him so much more than just a pretty arm — jaw-dropping as that may be.
And then there’s the nontraditional, if not physics-defying, skill set that reflects his baseball (and basketball) past and the movements and resilience developed through his never-ending work with longtime personal trainer Bobby Stroupe — another of the many dimensions of Mahomes explored in “Quarterback,” the new eight-part Netflix docuseries that also focuses on Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota.
By now, you’d also have a sense of “Petty Patrick” and the internal combustion that helps drive him to be what former Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy once called a “competitive (jerk).” It’s that fire that compels him to, say, count to 10 on his fingers over a perceived insult by the Chicago Bears in the 2017 NFL Draft and enables him to concoct outrage out of even the most meager of slights.
But Episode 1 of “Quarterback” illuminates that element of Mahomes with fresh depth and detail.
In the process, it reinforces yet another fascinating aspect of what makes him both captivating and on trajectory to be the best there ever was at what he does.
Mahomes: Cool under pressure
It’s not just that he has uncommon poise as it is.
It’s that even when Mahomes sees red, enough so that his eyes flash crazy and he acknowledges going into “that mode where I don’t even know what I’m saying” and “just kind of blacking out and going crazy,” he doesn’t come unhinged.
Well, at least not in terms of on-field performance.
Instead, he has the capacity — indeed, the habit — of harnessing the fury into results.
Emotional alchemy, you might call it.
And the conversion is all the more remarkable when it’s as well-earned as it was through Las Vegas’ Maxx Crosby in the Chiefs’ Week Five matchup last season in a game that wasn’t just a snapshot of a Super Bowl-winning journey but arguably a telling part of its mortar.
After the Chiefs overcame a 17-0 deficit to win 30-29 and improve to 4-1, Mahomes said then that he told the team, “ ‘Sometimes these games (are) the ones that build the true character of the team.’ ”
Or at least reveal it in all its ferocity.
To be clear, Mahomes is too savvy and discreet to give opponents ammunition leading into games. And he isn’t inclined to start trouble. But he also wasn’t going to accept it — a trait that Crosby admires, as he expressed in a June podcast with Von Miller.
“When I’m out there, he’s talking right back at me,” Crosby said. “And most quarterbacks aren’t like that, you know, they’re silent. They’re not going to say much.
“Pat’s one of those guys (who’s going to) get right back in your face and be like, ‘Yo, let’s go then. What’s up then?’ ”
The episode illustrates Mahomes’ intensifying frustration as the Chiefs fell behind and Crosby sacked him twice and repeatedly took extra jabs. With Mahomes’ mic’d up, you see and hear Crosby taking gratuitous shots that Mahomes describes quite correctly in the docuseries:
“There’s always mind games that you play in the NFL. He was trying to do whatever he could to kind of get in my head. A little push or a little shove (and) wrap me up and hold me a little extra longer.”
Mahomes simmered some when Crosby appeared to try to land on him after Mahomes was taken down by another defender. To no avail, Mahomes complained repeatedly to the nearby official about “98” diving at him after every play. Then came what would prove to be the boiling point for Mahomes … even if it looked more like mere exasperation in the moment.
Well after Mahomes released a pass, Crosby arrived and thumped Mahomes on the arm.
“Come on, dawg,” Mahomes said as he actually patted Crosby on his arm and walked away. “I know what you’re doing, but just chill out a little bit, you know what I’m saying? Don’t just punch me for no reason, dawg.”
When Crosby seemed to question that it was a punch, Mahomes said, “Come on, now, I understand you touching me, but don’t punch me, bro.”
Call it what you will, but it seemed to unleash what happened next.
After Mahomes connected on the first of four touchdown passes to Travis Kelce, he went on blast yelling “I’m here all day!” six times facing Crosby before his words morphed into “you woke up the wrong (expletive)” as he knocked heads with Crosby.
Still wild-eyed on the sideline yelling, “I’m here,” Mahomes was admonished to chill by coach Andy Reid.
“Whenever Coach Reid has to grab you and then pull you aside,” Mahomes says, smiling, in the documentary, “that’s when you know you’re going a little too far. Because he’s usually, like, let your personality show.”
‘You know I love you, dawg’
As it happens, he still did just that in every way in leading the Chiefs to a key victory.
Punctuated, as it happens, by him going directly toward Crosby at game’s end, embracing him and saying, “Hey, you know I love you, dawg. Hell of a game.”
During that podcast with Miller, Crosby pointed specifically to that.
“Every single time we play, he’s the first guy that comes up to me and we always show love,” he said. “So I’ve got a bunch of respect for him, and it’s an honor to chase him down.”
Even if his way of doing it lends fuel to the furnace Mahomes is constantly replenishing.
When Mahomes was asked about his obvious emotion in the postgame media session, he said, “Sometimes you have to create your own energy, and I kind of did that. I think Crosby’s a hell of a player, so I have a lot of respect for him. But sometimes you kind of use those things to kind of motivate yourself.”
That ability is just part of the spectrum of all that distinguishes Mahomes, but it’s also vital to what brings it all together. It’s about all his talents, of course, but it’s also fused by his burn to win and penchant for summoning a winning edge amid all types of emotions.
This story was originally published July 14, 2023 at 6:00 AM with the headline "‘Quarterback’ series illuminates a key Patrick Mahomes trait in joust with Maxx Crosby."