Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
It was a clever attempt in a tough spot but Mahomes, Warner just beat him. He tried to change the throwing lane by rolling out, thought he had done so but Warner didn't bite and stayed right where he was supposed to be. Design or accident, Warner did a thing that most LBs in that situation just don't do.
It's one of those times that Mahomes and his ability to adapt/improvise on the fly came back to bite him. The guy sees the field in slow motion, but he doesn't see into the future.
Yet.
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Let me preface this because I see now that anything close to criticism of Mahomes could result in me getting expelled from the forum pitch fork and torches style (and I mostly get it
).
Mahomes deserved the Super Bowl MVP. While I wouldn't have been upset had Damien won it - Damien wouldn’t have had the opportunities to score late had Mahomes not been able to take 13 step drop and launching a 57 yard ball without being able to step into the throw due to being hit by Buckner. Damn, we got a Super Bowl and a legendary play out of it. WASP is already known by fans throughout the NFL (even the Denver fans I talk to know the play call) Patrick was against one of the best pass defenses in the last five years and took a level of punishment that would have made most QB’s go full fetal and still overcame. I have rewatched every single play of the Super Bowl because the more time passes the more I love the matchup. The 49ers, on paper, were the perfect counterbalance against us, they were able to consistently bring heat on Patrick with 4 rushers and work to keep Mahomes contained in the pocket. Yet, it didn’t matter, despite all of the punishment, and playing against perhaps the best overall defense he’s played in the NFL, Mahomes shredded them in the 4th Quarter.
But Patrick did have a couple of big misses in the 3rd quarter. I think the INT to Warner, was a combination of a gamble by Patrick, a hell of a play by Warner, but also the throw itself slightly missed the window Patrick needed to hit on the inside (as Coogs referenced). I think, overall, that throw was a gamble that I’m not sure was fully necessary in that time and place in the game. It reminded me of some of his gunslinger INT’s he had in 2018, specifically the ones were Patrick tried to create chicken salad out of **** downfield. While I think Patrick had a bad quarter, this post was made fully defending the narrative that Patrick somehow played poorly the first 3 quarters of the game.
He had only 4 possessions in the first half of the Super Bowl (the 49ers came in to slow the game down and did a brilliant job of it until 8:57 in the Q4), had Damien Williams been looking for the football, Mahomes would have turned 14 points out of those 4 first half possessions. In the last possession, a big part of what stalled them was Andy getting cute and trying a jet sweep on second down against the fastest linebacking core in the NFL. I think the only difference between Mahomes performance from the first half to Quarter 3 is that Mahomes only took what the 49ers gave him in the first half compared to some of the gambles we saw him take in Q3.
Overall, none of that is meant to be a critique on Patrick. That 49ers defense broke Aaron Rodgers on less punishment in their two matchups against him. In fact, in their two matchups against Rodgers, they held Aaron to an average of
zero points in the first halves of those games. That Niners defense, when fully healthy, was a monster to overcome - and Patrick torched their asses regardless.