Leading into the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 10 bout with the Atlanta Falcons, quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ last deep-ball completion — a pass thrown 20 or more yards in the air — came in Week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
The recipient of the throw was wide receiver Tyquan Thornton, who dislocated his ankle on the play and was placed on the Reserve/Injured list. Between that play and Week 10, Mahomes completed none of his five downfield attempts.
Poetically, the midseason trade for wide receiver Josh
Downs was followed by Mahomes’ most prolific game of the year, with plenty of throws down the field.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Mahomes completed three of six passes 20 or more yards downfield — each to a familiar face in the receiving corps.
- Rookie Cyrus Allen got open on a double-move down the left sideline for a 39-yard touchdown
- Veteran Rashee Rice came down with a 50-yard catch on a post route in traffic
- Training-camp standout Andrew Armstrong hauled in a long bomb in the end zone from a scrambling Mahomes
It was Mahomes’ first game with multiple deep-pass touchdowns since 2021.
It felt like his confidence throwing the long ball started with intermediate passes — including an 18-yard strike to Downs at the front pylon of the end zone. The back-shoulder touchdown is a rare sight in the Chiefs’ offense, but clearly, Downs has already earned enough respect from Mahomes to step up in the pocket and rifle the attempt there.
After that pass put the Chiefs up 14-6, Mahomes kept challenging Atlanta’s coverage downfield and didn’t stop until the team was coasting to a late-fourth-quarter victory; he even threw a bomb to tight end Jake Briningstool into the end zone at one point.
Downs may not be the target on these deep targets all the time, but it feels as if Mahomes needed a player like Downs to help establish a rhythm — and the rest of the receivers needed a player like Downs to relieve the pressure snap to snap.
