ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Even the Kansas City Chiefs' fans seemed bored watching a forgettable 10-10-10 practice. Over about 90 minutes, Andy Reid installed 30 plays, with 10 each for offense, defense and special teams.
It was Day 12 of training camp. The early camp adrenaline was long gone. And it was a scorcher, a wet heat that's unique to the Missouri farmlands.
Yet Patrick Mahomes looked like he was having the time of his life.
That's when it occurred to me: Maybe we've been overdoing the comparisons between Tom Brady and Mahomes. Maybe we're missing the mark comparing the New England Patriots and the Chiefs.
The more I watched Reid, Mahomes and the Chiefs at work, the more I came to realize just how different they are than the Bill Belichick-Brady Patriots. There's no denying that Kansas City is a dynasty, like New England was. There's no denying that the Chiefs are the favorite to win the Super Bowl and are, therefore, in the mix to become the first team to ever win back-to-back-to-back championships. And yes, Mahomes is The Reason why, just like Brady was for the Patriots.
But Mahomes couldn't be more different than Brady, even if they'll always draw comparisons to each other.
Brady was a control freak hell-bent on repetition, intensity and seriousness. His reliance on structure led to his consistency and his greatness. He was the perfect quarterback for Belichick.
Mahomes is a living reminder that football players play, that this is all a game. It's not just a game, of course, but Mahomes plays with joy and creativity that helps him achieve his unique greatness. He's the perfect quarterback for Reid, who knows how to rock a Hawaiian shirt better than anyone.
The more you watch Mahomes, the goofier he gets. And Reid embraces that goofy side, building the team's identity around Mahomes' personality — not just his skill set.
"Yeah, absolutely," Reid said Monday. "Because he wants new stuff [in the playbook]. And so with that, you can build it around his personality."
What's most remarkable is that Mahomes' silliness doesn't take the edge off his competitive spirit. The Las Vegas Raiders recently mocked Mahomes' goofiness. Raiders rookie safety Trey Taylor used a Kermit the Frog puppet to riff off how Mahomes sounds like the iconic muppet when he speaks.
And that level of goofiness triggered the QB's killer instinct.
"It'll get handled when it gets handled," Mahomes told reporters.
It was cold. It was a don't-poke-the-bear moment.
Over the past few seasons, the Chiefs have lived by Mahomes' chiller-killer mentality.
The Chiefs know it's that mentality that can get them to the Super Bowl in February 2025. And it's that dual nature that makes Mahomes simply, undeniably great.
All those examples of Mahomes being an assassin — they make it hard to reconcile the guy at Chiefs camp on Friday. The quarterback put on a blindfold and played a game of dizzy bat before trying to throw the ball into an accuracy net. And he nearly hit it!
On Sunday, Mahomes got out onto the field early and began flipping a football over his head, like a rainbow in soccer. Later during practice, he juggled the football like a soccer ball. When he ran into former Raiders and Bucs coach Jon Gruden at practice, Mahomes walked over and said something that got Gruden, backup QB Carson Wentz and general manager Brett Veach laughing. Then on Monday, Reid called a hook-and-ladder play on the second snap of competitive team drills.
What kind of team does that?!
A hook and ladder scripted for Play 2!?
Well, I guess it's a chiller-killer team. I guess it's Mahomes' team. And at some point, that goofy play will help the Chiefs win a big game. Bet on it.
Ask any of Mahomes' teammates and they'll tell you he's as playful as NFL players come.
I'd be willing to wager that Mahomes is the one who designed the team's quadruple pass that went viral in July. It's no secret that Mahomes is the mastermind behind those over-the-top trick plays (which do occasionally make it into the game plan). There's genius in that — in letting Mahomes design plays and encouraging the team to practice them. It continues to mold the offense around him.
[McKenna: Patrick Mahomes is Chiefs’ trick-play engineer. Here's how they come together]
Mahomes has a special way of balancing the simple joys of football while staying focused on the ultimate goal: another win in February. He doesn't want this one any less than his other three.
If anything, those titles have made him want another one even more.
"For us — I’ll speak for myself — I mean, when you don’t win it now, it sucks because you know what it could be like if you were to go out there and win it," Mahomes said.
Maybe a part of why Reid encourages Mahomes' silliness is because it helps the medicine go down.
Given the size of Reid's playbook and the rate at which the Chiefs install the plays, he is asking players to memorize roughly 15 plays per day. This dynastic team also still holds training camp at Missouri Western State University, where the players — most of them millionaires — sleep in the dorms. Reid asks a lot of his players. His Hawaiian shirt of a quarterback helps everything run smoothly.
Mahomes is a brilliant thrower. He's a brilliant football mind. He's a fantastic leader. We see all that every Sunday.
What's not often in the spotlight, but just as important: the way he elevates the mood of the Chiefs — the way he reminds his teammates what football is all about. That it's still a game they played as kids. The Chiefs are completely in sync with that vision. And that's one of the biggest reasons why Kansas City can win again.
It's about Mahomes, who is one part goofball and one part assassin.
Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.
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