1
New Kid in Town
ALL OVER AMERICA, football fans tuned in to get a glimpse of the new quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs. It was October 1, 2018, week four of the still young NFL season.
They’d heard about the stats—a league-leading thirteen touchdowns in his first three games. They’d seen the highlights—daring passes from an unbelievably strong arm and slalom-like runs through defenders. They’d heard the testimonials about his potential—“the sky’s the limit for this kid,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who doesn’t normally praise his players, said after a six-touchdown game in week two.
Now here was a chance to see Patrick Mahomes live on Monday Night Football and judge if he was indeed the potential next big star of the National Football League, or if he was just a flash in the pan whose brief run of greatness would quickly end.
In front of a packed and loud stadium in Denver, Colorado, Patrick put up a solid performance for most of the game. He wasn’t great, though. There was no evidence to suggest that he should be crowned king of the NFL or a future Hall of Famer.
He’d thrown for 235 yards and one touchdown. He’d run for another. Respectable, but not special. And as a result, the Chiefs were trailing the Denver Broncos, 23–20 with 4:35 remaining in the game. Kansas City had the ball on their own forty-yard line with the game still in their reach.
Patrick had no time to wait if he was going to lead the Chiefs to victory and make a statement that at just twenty-three years old and in just his first year as the full-time starter, he was a force to be reckoned with.
“Well, these are the moments that can make a guy,” the ESPN broadcaster said as Patrick and the offense took the field looking for a game-winning drive. “The moment has arrived for Patrick Mahomes.”
It was a moment Patrick had been building toward his entire life.
From as early as he could remember, he didn’t just want to be a professional athlete, he expected to be one. He’d grown up around pro athletes, after all. His father, Pat Mahomes Sr., was a longtime pitcher in the major leagues. Patrick would spend summers trailing his dad around, including hanging out on the field before games for batting practice or to shag fly balls.
At first, team officials tried to stop him, assuming a kid that young might get hurt out on the field. Then they saw him chase down a fly or catch a hard ground ball and became so amazed at his skill and courage at such a young age that he earned his place.
Sports quickly became the center of Patrick’s universe. There were the baseball games his dad played. Then there were the ones he played—baseball, for sure, but also basketball and football and golf and track and anything else he could compete in. No matter the activity, Patrick almost immediately showed himself to be the most talented among his friends.
“He was a natural,” said one of his high school coaches, Adam Cook. “You give him a little while to figure out how a game is played, and he’d beat you at it. Just a natural athlete.”
To Patrick, becoming a pro made sense. Why stop playing games once you got older if you didn’t need to stop? He didn’t even care which sport he played professionally. He just wanted to keep competing and having fun.
As a kid, Patrick assumed he’d be a pitcher. By high school he could fire fastballs in the mid-90s. He could also crack home runs seemingly at will. But it wasn’t his only passion.
He loved playing point guard in basketball, leading the team, especially on a fast break. He could also drain long three-pointers and dunk when the opportunity arose. Was hoops his future? Some in his small hometown of Whitehouse, Texas, thought that was his best sport.
Then there was football, where as a quarterback he was able to combine the skills of baseball and basketball—a strong, accurate arm with a knack for finding open teammates with a pass. Soon that became his passion. He loved how each play brought a unique challenge and the need for quick decisions.
It was perfect for Patrick, who played quarterback in his own way—not as a traditional pass-first guy, but also not as a run-first guy. He liked to run, but only to set up the throw. He became known for throwing passes at unusual arm angles and flinging the ball incredible distances.
“He threw the ball like eighty-five yards in practice,” wide receiver Tyreek Hill said, noting how he’d never before see anyone toss a ball that far. Almost no one had.
Patrick had become a star at Whitehouse High in East Texas, then at Texas Tech University. Kansas City drafted him tenth overall in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, but he spent his rookie year almost completely as a backup, learning from a veteran named Alex Smith.
Then came 2018, and as the team’s confidence in him grew, he was named the starter and he immediately showed himself to be a sensation in the making, winning his first three games. At least, that’s why football fans far from Kansas City were tuned in to watch him take on the Broncos.
Patrick gathered his team before the drive, and in the center of the huddle, he didn’t look like an inexperienced quarterback. He commanded their respect through his talent, of course, but also hard work and humility. He was a team-first player. His guys believed in him.
“Let’s go win,” he told them.
With over half the field between the Chiefs and victory, Patrick immediately hit wide receiver Tyreek Hill on an eight-yard slant to get things moving. On second down, he threw it to Hill again, but the intense Denver defense tackled Hill for a three-yard loss.
Suddenly it was 3rd and 5 and if Kansas City didn’t convert for a first down, they’d have to punt. They might not get the ball back. This single play could determine the game and the sold-out crowd in Denver poured noise down onto the field to distract Patrick and the Chiefs.
Patrick took the snap, but the Broncos’ pass rush was ferocious. Denver’s best player, Von Miller, a six-three, 250-pound All-Pro linebacker, got free from his block. He began chasing Patrick, who had to sprint to his left to avoid the tackle. Von kept coming, though, and was about to hit Patrick, who had almost no good options.
If Patrick hesitated for another second, Von would sack him and force the punt. If he threw the ball with his right hand, which, as a right-hander, he always did, Von might knock it out and cause a fumble. So Patrick did what perhaps only he could think of doing, let alone actually pull off. While on the run he switched the ball to his left hand and then sort of pushed the ball through the air to Tyreek, who was a few yards downfield.
Patrick released the ball just as Von tackled him. The ball fluttered through the air and into the hands of Tyreek, who quickly turned up field for the first down. All over the stadium, all over the country, people couldn’t believe what they had just seen.
A left-handed throw by a right-handed quarterback?
“How did he pull that off?” said one ESPN announcer.
“Are you kidding me?” said another announcer on the broadcast. “Wow. This guy is incredible.”
“I thought, ‘Is he a magician or something?’” Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt said.
“Whoa,” said Chiefs coach Andy Reid. “That was pretty good.”
It was more than pretty good. It was incredible.
“I was kind of just scrambling left,” Patrick explained. “I felt Von on my back and I knew I couldn’t throw it with my right hand and I knew we needed a first down. I just shot-putted it to Tyreek. You just have to get the ball in their hands somehow.”
It was a highlight reel play few were capable of matching, but all it did was earn a first down. The Chiefs were still nowhere near the end zone and the clock was ticking. And it wasn’t like Von Miller and the Broncos defense were going to quit.
After a couple of penalties, Kansas City was in even worse shape—facing 2nd and 30 with 2:59 remaining. The Denver pass rush again came after Patrick who had to scramble right to buy some time before chucking it on the run to receiver Demarcus Robinson for twenty-three yards. It was another amazing pass.
Now on 3rd and 7, Patrick needed some more magic. Thankfully he had some left in the tank. Rather than get just past the first down chains, he again scrambled right, away from more Denver tacklers, and heaved the ball down field for a thirty-five-yard completion.
The Broncos couldn’t believe what was happening. Neither could football fans. Three consecutive unbelievable throws by Patrick Mahomes! A few plays later, Kareem Hunt scored on a run and Kansas City took a 27–23 lead that they wouldn’t give up.
The Chiefs won. All anyone could do was talk about Patrick and his improbable passes.
“Some amazing plays there,” said Coach Reid. “We’ve seen it in practice, but not under those conditions. He’s a confident kid, he’s a confident player.”
Patrick just shrugged and praised his teammates. He didn’t want the focus to fall on him.
“[The victory] speaks about how much heart we have,” Patrick said.
He didn’t need to brag. The message had been sent. He proved that not only was the hype real, but this new kid in Kansas City was just getting started.
2
Early Years
PATRICK LAVON MAHOMES II was born on September 17, 1995, to Pat and Randi Mahomes. Randi was an event planner, which meant she organized and threw parties for people. Pat Sr. played baseball for the Minnesota Twins. He was a relief pitcher, specializing in entering games when the Twins were leading and then shutting down opponents.
Being a pro athlete was exciting, but it didn’t leave much time for family. The day after his son was born, Pat Sr. was back at work, pitching three and one-third scoreless innings.
That was the family’s way, though—it was always about being dedicated to their jobs. Pat Sr. hadn’t even played competitive baseball until his senior year of high school in Texas. He thought he would attend college to play basketball, not baseball. Once he showed some promise, however, he worked his way up to become a major leaguer.
Nothing was given to him and no one thought he’d make it. He wound up playing eleven seasons for the Twins, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, and Pittsburgh Pirates. It was that kind of determination, work ethic, and self-confidence that Pat Sr. would instill in his son.
Patrick was the firstborn, followed by brother Jackson. While their dad was playing baseball around the country, their mother raised Patrick and Jackson in Whitehouse, Texas.
Whitehouse is a small city of about eight thousand in East Texas, about halfway between Dallas and Shreveport, Louisiana. It is a suburb of nearby Tyler, Texas, and is surrounded by woods and lakes. It’s the type of place where everyone seems to know everyone and life revolves around local high school sports, especially on Friday nights in the fall when the football team plays. Wildcat Stadium seats seven thousand, so almost the entire city could come to a game and have a seat.
“I was blessed to grow up in a great community,” Patrick said.
Both Patrick’s mother and father had been raised in Tyler, so they were surrounded by family. His mother felt comfortable while Pat Sr. was off playing baseball. In the summers, Randi and the kids would join Pat Sr. in whatever city he was playing.
In addition to his father, Patrick’s godfather, LaTroy Hawkins, was also a professional baseball player. LaTroy and Pat Sr. were best friends. LaTroy would play twenty-one years in the majors. As a result, Patrick was surrounded by pro athletes at a young age, including teammates and even opponents of Pat Sr. and LaTroy.
Patrick and Jackson loved being around the game of baseball. Both got to serve as bat boys for their dad’s teams and spent plenty of time during games hanging out in the dugout or running around the stadium. Sometimes they’d shag fly balls during batting practice or play catch with other major leaguers. It was a dream childhood for a sports-loving kid.
“I was actually one of the first guys with the Mets to bring a kid on the field [before games],” Patrick’s father told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Everyone was scared he’d get hurt.”
It didn’t take long for Patrick to prove he could protect himself. He was such a good young athlete, even at twelve or thirteen, that he could catch flies and knock down ground balls from major leaguers, shocking everyone with his ability. Soon everyone stopped worrying about this young guy getting hurt and instead watched as he chased down a fly ball like a high schooler.
Text copyright © 2020 by Dan Wetzel