Patrick Mahomes wasn’t looking for contact.
But as he scurried up the middle of the pocket on fourth-and-goal, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback burrowed forward to cover the yard to the end zone.
And the 225-pound father of three wasn’t going to be stopped by a rookie safety making contact with his left shoulder.
So the San Francisco 49ers’ Malik Mustapha was knocked backward as Mahomes scored the game-sealing touchdown standing up.
“I actually was not trying to lower my shoulder,” Mahomes said. “I was trying to absorb the hit because I was going to be right there in the end zone. But that dad bod, man. Had enough weight on me where he went down.
“Just ended up looking good for me.”
The Chiefs’ result looked better than Mahomes’ passing stats in a 28-18 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
The first 6-0 start of Mahomes’ career arrived on a day when he produced the lowest passer rating of his 102 career games.
Mahomes’ 44.4 passer rating was about half of his 88.9 passer rating this season, and far below the 102.9 passer he’s averaged across his career.
And still: His squad won by 10 points.
Part of that reflects the many contributions from teammates and coaches, leading Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid — the two most-credited Chiefs dynasty architects — eager to praise everyone but themselves.
And part of that reflects Mahomes’ ability not only to always command defensive attention and respect, but also to shape-shift his strengths to how he needs it when he needs it.
No, the quarterback’s six passing touchdowns and eight interceptions this season are not the winning formula.
But do the Chiefs really need to rely on one single formula to win games?
“Patrick had a couple turnovers himself, but they win those gritty games,” 49ers tight end George Kittle said. “[They’re] a team that knows how to win.”
Chiefs vs. 49ers featured no-fly zone
A chaotic passing game day was ironic.
An entertainment-forward league showcasing its defending conference champions would no doubt prefer a shootout filled with spectacular offensive highlights.
Instead, Mahomes completed 59% (16 of 27) passes for 154 yards, Brock Purdy completing 54.8% (17 of 31) for 212. No passing touchdown survived on a day of injured receivers and swarming defensive fronts.
Purdy threw three interceptions, while Mahomes threw two.
The Chiefs quarterback was seasoned enough to know two things: He did not have a successful passing day. And also, neither of his interceptions were the result of poor decisions or poor mechanics.
One pass targeted an open receiver but was tipped at the line of scrimmage and caught by defensive tackle Kalia Davis. On the other, rookie receiver Xavier Worthy lost his footing and 49ers defensive back Deommodore Lenoir capitalized.
“I was going to the right direction, the right spot, but you get unlucky sometimes,” Mahomes said. “I got to still clean it up and that’s stuff I got to work on. There’s too many interceptions that put our defense in bad spots.”
Mahomes credited teammates who led a 184-yard rushing day, Kareem Hunt netting 78 yards and two touchdowns while Mahomes ranked second with 39 and one.
The run game was sufficient to power a 4-of-5 day in the red zone. And Mahomes’ acrobatics, paired with three interceptions from the defense, were sufficient to get the Chiefs to the red zone.
Be it a shovel pass that somehow traveled a full 8 yards or a second-down scramble that went from a backfield tackle to a 33-yard gain, Fox’s broadcast team didn’t contain its amazement.
Tom Brady laughed at how Mahomes broke every quarterback rule he’d learned, the color analyst adding that Bill Belichick was “at home right now ripping out his hair” as he watched Mahomes’ so-wrong-they’re-right plays.
Play-by-play analyst Kevin Burkhardt added his own “How did he do that?” as Mahomes parlayed multiple pump fakes and a seeming deal with the sideline devil to the Chiefs’ longest play of the day.
“I was just trying to get the first down then get out of bounds, but the dude overran it or kind of got a little bit of a block there so once I got on the sideline, it opened up and I was able to get down there,” Mahomes said. “I thought about cutting it back. But I’ll save that for the playoffs. And right now i’ll just continue to run out of bounds.”
What abnormal start to Chiefs’ season says about postseason viability
What else might the league’s lone undefeated team be saving for the playoffs?
A team that seems to be getting better around Mahomes should concern the rest of the NFL.
The Chiefs seem to have found a fountain of youth for Hunt at running back, and Steve Spagnuolo’s defense is as stifling and confounding as ever.
Even with a heavily depleted receiving corps, the 49ers posted their worst third-down mark of the season converting on just 2 of 11 attempts (18%). Only against the 5-1 Minnesota Vikings (2 of 10) had the 49ers otherwise dropped below a 40% success rate.
San Francisco trailed for more than 41 minutes of game time.
“There’s no way to sugarcoat that we got our ass kicked today,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said.
Mahomes emphasized his need to improve, particularly in the passing game, for the Chiefs to reach the gear at which he believes they’re capable of performing. For a quarterback more than willing to take that accountability, knowing the room for improvement is within his control — and the Chiefs have the fast track to a postseason berth with the league’s best record — is encouraging.
Mahomes’ confidence shone through when asked about wins coming less easily to his team this season.
Their 6-0 record doesn’t feature blowouts. But it does include wins against their final two postseason opponents last season, the Baltimore Ravens and now the 49ers.
“I don’t want to say it doesn’t come easily because we’re winning games against good teams by a good amount of points,” Mahomes said. “I just don’t think that’s normal for us. There hasn’t been a lot of passing touchdowns, there’s been a lot of turnovers especially by me and so I think it’s just showing the versatility.
“It’s not just about me, it’s not just about the stats and the light show and things like that. It’s about team football. And I believe if we continue to work, we’ll get better offensively throwing the ball down the field.
“Until then, it’s just nice to know we have a great running game, great defense and we’re able to execute whenever it’s time to win football games.”
Dad bod and all.