Sports
An ‘alien’ is coming to Atlanta: Falcons admit Mahomes Week is different
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons’ defensive players talk about Patrick Mahomes like he’s an actor, and the NFL’s leading man is coming to Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday night.
“When the play breaks down and you’ve got it all covered and you’ve done it all right, there’s a second part to the play. There’s a second act,” Falcons linebacker Kaden Elliss said. “Being able to cover up not only the initial play that the great Andy Reid has drawn up falls apart, you’ve got Patrick Mahomes becoming Him.”
“Him” refers to the dominant figure in his environment, and few professional athletes have been more dominant in their environment than Mahomes.
In six seasons as Kansas City’s starting quarterback, he has never finished a season short of the AFC Championship Game. His three Super Bowl titles are tied for third among starting quarterbacks in NFL history, and everyone ahead of him on that list started for at least twice as many seasons as he has. Only Tom Brady and Joe Montana have more playoff wins than Mahomes’ 15, and he’s 29 years old. Since he joined the league in 2017, no quarterback has won more games (91) or won them at a higher rate (78.4 percent). The seven other quarterbacks drafted in 2017 have won 76 games combined.
These numbers go on and on and on, and they’re the reason Atlanta finds itself on a prime-time stage for the second straight week as the Falcons are preparing to host the Chiefs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on “Sunday Night Football.”
With all due respect to Kirk Cousins and Bijan Robinson and the new-look Falcons, the stage will belong to Mahomes.
“It’s his improv, man,” Falcons safety Richie Grant said. “He can improv every single play, turn something that you think is a no gain into a touchdown.”
Mahomes is so good he even beats the oldest of NFL cliches — that every week has to be treated exactly the same no matter the opponent. Atlanta outside linebacker Matthew Judon faced Mahomes six times as a member of the New England Patriots. Mahomes Week is different, he said.
“There are special players in this league,” Judon said. “When you’ve got a guy like Patrick Mahomes on the schedule, you watch a little more film. You pay closer attention to the details because he’s a three-time champ, and there’s something in the margins to win the game. It’s going to be something in the details. It’s probably going to come down to a few plays.”
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The Chiefs (2-0) come into Atlanta as 3.5-point favorites, having won eight straight games dating to last postseason.
“As a competitor, you always want to make a play against one of the best competitors,” Grant said. “I would question you if you don’t have that mindset.”
“It definitely stokes your competitive fire,” Elliss said. “If you take anybody lax in this league, it’ll get you, but when you get to go up a team of this quality, it does stoke your competitive fire a little bit more. I’m excited.”
Falcons coach Raheem Morris compares Mahomes not to an actor but to an extraterrestrial.
“He’s an alien,” Morris said. “He’s smart. He’s unique. He can move around. He can buy time. He can play within the framework of the system. He knows what you’re doing on defense. He’s grown up to the point of seeing everything. He’s seen every trick, every gimmick, every gamut, whatever you want to call it. He’s been able to really go out there and be at the top of his game in just about everything, and he’s just one of the best.”
DOT. @PatrickMahomes | @Chiefs pic.twitter.com/a9lV4txNu3
— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
Atlanta offensive coordinator Zac Robinson was charting draft-eligible quarterbacks as an analyst for Pro Football Focus in 2017. He said Mahomes had all those traits even then.
“Obviously, the ability that he has with his arm to really make any throw at any time was special, and then you just saw the instincts and the vision, and right away you’re saying, ‘There’s really no way that this shouldn’t work out,’ as long as he’s committed to the game, and he loves it,” Robinson said. “Obviously, he’s proven to be a football junkie.”
Sunday night will be the second time the Falcons have faced Mahomes. The first was in December of 2020 when Morris was Atlanta’s interim head coach after the firing of Dan Quinn. The Chiefs won 17-14, but the Falcons caused Mahomes enough problems (55 percent completion percentage, 79.5 passer rating) that other NFL teams briefly hoped they had provided a blueprint for slowing him down.
He’s been to three Super Bowls since then.
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Morris got another shot at Mahomes as the defensive coordinator of the Rams in 2022. Again, Mahomes didn’t play great (85.4 passer rating). Again, Mahomes won (26-10). In two matchups against Morris’ defenses, Mahomes’ passer rating and efficiency as measured by EPA per attempt are lower than his career averages (82.4 passer rating versus 103.3 and .04 EPA per attempt versus .26), according to TruMedia.
Those numbers don’t change how Morris talks about Mahomes.
“He’s certainly a problem no matter what,” the coach said, “and he’s one of the best that we’ve seen just in whatever generation you want to talk about.”
Falcons safety Justin Simmons, who spent the first eight years of his career in Denver, also has had some success against Mahomes. He’s intercepted the quarterback five times. No other player has done it more than twice. Like Morris, Simmons is smart enough not to brag about it.
“It’s not those first three seconds of the play, it’s those next four or five seconds that really matter,” Simmons said. “You can’t get frustrated when they make a big play. It’s a next-play mentality. They take a lot of shots and you have a lot of chances to go play the ball. We’ve got to be able to make plays on the football. It’s fun playing that cat-and-mouse game. This is going to be a big one for us.”
(Photo: David Eulitt / Getty Images)
Sports
High school basketball: Boys’ and girls’ scores from Wednesday
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS
BOYS
CITY SECTION
Arleta 61, Chavez 21
Bernstein 51, RFK Community 40
Bravo 70, Roosevelt 63
Canoga Park 68, Reseda 21
Carson 52, Wilmington Banning 44
Central City Value 51, Animo Bunche 46
Chatsworth 69, Sylmar 52
Contreras 51, Mendez 40
Diego Rivera 58, Iovine and Young Center 30
Downtown Magnets 96, Annenberg 20
Fairfax 65, LA University 26
Foshay 94, Horace Mann UCLA Community 49
Garfield 66, South East 33
Granada Hills Kennedy 52, Van Nuys 38
Hawkins 80, Port of Los Angeles 72
Huntington Park 51, South Gate 38
Jefferson 74, Santee 63
King/Drew 58, LA Jordan 52
LACES 38, Westchester 36
LA Hamilton 82, LA Wilson 65
Lincoln 56, Hollywood 40
Locke 60, Dymally 21
Los Angeles 70, Angelou 32
MSAR 39, Bert Corona Charter 38
MSCP 108, Stella 22
Orthopaedic 67, Aspire Ollin 18
Palisades 75, Venice 55
San Fernando 89, Panorama 38
Washington 86, Crenshaw 56
West Adams 58, Manual Arts 48
SOUTHERN SECTION
Ambassador 53, NOVA Academy 42
Anaheim Canyon 77, Norte Vista 63
Apple Valley 92, Barstow 87
Arcadia 58, Pasadena 53
Arroyo 58, El Rancho 51
Banning 61, Rubidoux 57
Bassett 56, EF Academy 30
Capistrano Valley 59, Laguna Beach 47
Chino Hills 68, Corona Santiago 62
Coachella Valley 59, Cathedral City 38
Corona Centennial 79, Calvary Chapel 30
Corona del Mar 64, Great Oak 43
CSDR 59, La Sierra Academy 28
Edgewood 53, Santa Ana Valley 23
Elsinore 65, Murrieta Valley 60
Estancia 64, Nogales 25
Etiwanda 58, Cypress 42
Foothill Tech 49, St. Bonaventure 46
Fountain Valley 65, Irvine University 47
Garden Grove 62, Magnolia 40
Glendora 70, Brea Olinda 65
Glenn 67, Eastside Christian 12
Grace 51, Villanova Prep 38
Heritage Christian 53, Aquinas 29
Holy Martyrs Armenian 60, Calvary Baptist 48
Knight 80, Palmdale 41
La Canada 67, La Puente 21
La Habra 59, Huntington Beach 50
La Palma Kennedy 38, Garden Grove Pacifica 36
Los Alamitos 89, Cerritos 54
Los Altos 83, Savanna 56
Marina 70, Ocean View 37
Mater Dei 90, Jurupa Hills 70
Mayfair 63, Warren 54
Millikan 61, Leuzinger 43
Mission Viejo 67, Sage Hill 60
Monrovia 67, Pomona 22
Montclair 62, Patriot 61
Oaks Christian 77, Simi Valley 32
Orange Vista 72, Heritage 61
Pacific Lutheran 65, Animo Leadership 51
PACS 60, Santa Clarita Christian 46
Paloma Valley 55, Moreno Valley 50
Pasadena Poly 59, Gabrielino 39
Peninsula 61, Temescal Canyon 53
Quartz Hill 73, Lancaster 53
Rancho Verde 83, Sonora 71
Redlands East Valley 81, Grand Terrace 41
Rialto 65, Granite Hills 23
Riverside King 79, Arlington 42
Rolling Hills Prep 79, CAMS 23
Samueli Academy 47, Century 42
San Gabriel 67, Pasadena Marshall 41
Santa Ana 48, Orange 35
Santa Barbara Providence 86, Oak Grove 34
Sierra Canyon 89, Rancho Christian 57
Silver Valley 68, Western Christian 57
Silverado 61, Ridgecrest Burroughs 24
South Hills 36, West Covina 35
St. John Bosco 62, Fairmont Prep 56
St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 83, Whittier 40
Valley View 65, Vista del Lago 64
Vasquez 76, St. Genevieve 68
Verbum Dei 64, Long Beach Wilson 58
Westlake 75, Buckley 62
INTERSECTIONAL
Alemany 66, Granada Hills 65
Duarte 69, CHAMPS 28
Garces Memorial 58, Paraclete 49
Legacy Christian Academy 66, Birmingham 47
Mira Mesa 60, Murrieta Mesa 48
Newport Beach Pacifica Christian 66, Seattle (WA) King’s 35
Rancho Mirage 65, Brawley 58
SEED: LA 85, Magnolia Science Academy 21
GIRLS
CITY SECTION
Animo Bunche 35, Central City Value 33
Annenberg 38, Downtown Magnets 4
Arleta 68, Chavez 6
Bell 50, Legacy 15
Carson 36, Wilmington Banning 33
Diego Rivera 47, Iovine and Young Center 3
Foshay 39, Horace Mann UCLA Community 25
Garfield 62, South East 31
Granada Hills Kennedy 72, Van Nuys 8
Hawkins 79, Port of Los Angeles 32
Huntington Park 57, South Gate 17
LA Fairfax 40, LA University 19
LA Wilson 64, Elizabeth 6
Locke 30, Dymally 10
Los Angeles 30, Angelou 28
Mendez 19, Contreras 16
MSCP 46, Stella 15
Palisades 60, Venice 56
Reseda 36, Canoga Park 18
RFK Community 44, Bernstein 32
San Fernando 54, Panorama 18
San Pedro 78, Rancho Dominguez 7
Verdugo Hills 47, North Hollywood 36
West Adams 51, Manual Arts 12
Westchester 84, LACES 34
SOUTHERN SECTION
Acaciawood 39, Liberty Christian 10
Alemany 74, YULA 34
Aliso Niguel 52, Capistrano Valley 29
Apple Valley 51, Barstow 21
Arcadia 59, Pasadena 29
Banning 33, Rubidoux 16
Carpinteria 54, Nordhoff 39
Carter 65, La Sierra 23
Citrus Valley 56, Perris 30
Colony 45, Fontana 42
Compton Centennial 41, San Gabriel Academy 36
CSDR 66, La Sierra Academy 8
Dana Hills 45, Northwood 40
Dominguez 56, La Puente 24
Fillmore 46, Channel Islands 34
Flintridge Sacred Heart 51, Burbank Providence 32
Garden Grove 33, Los Amigos 29
Glendora 67, Patriot 27
Heritage 74, Chaparral 37
Hesperia Christian 45, Arrowhead Christian 33
Indian Springs 47, Tahquitz 42
La Serna 57, La Habra 28
Long Beach Wilson 46, Whitney 42
Los Amigos 37, Santa Ana Valley 28
Milken 53, Notre Dame Academy 39
Montclair 33, Arroyo 19
Norwalk 66, Workman 24
Ontario Christian 98, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 25
Pasadena Poly 65, Westridge 9
Redlands 60, Arlington 29
Redondo Union 50, Harvard-Westlake 37
Rosamond 57, Desert 13
Rosary Academy 70, Wiseburn Da Vinci 39
St. Lucy’s 25, Bloomington 11
St. Margaret’s 52, El Toro 46
Sunny Hills 47, Paramount 40
Temecula Valley 42, Desert Christian Academy 35
Thousand Oaks 63, Canyon Country Canyon 43
Upland 39, Temescal Canyon 38
Vista Murrieta 48, Ayala 47
Walnut 52, Millikan 40
Yorba Linda 44, Northview 28
INTERSECTIONAL
Birmingham 52, La Canada 41
Centennial (CO) Eagle Crest
Gertz-Ressler 36, Beverly Hills 31
Sports
Why Baseball Hall of Fame chair was ‘not surprised’ Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds struck out again
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Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are likely down to their final at-bat when it comes to getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The two missed out on their latest attempt of getting a spot in Cooperstown through the Contemporary Era Committee on Sunday. The 16-member panel voted for former San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros star Jeff Kent to get his place in the hallowed halls.
Second baseman Jeff Kent #21 of the San Francisco Giants walks on the infield during the MLB game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sept. 19, 2002 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
Baseball Hall of Fame Chair Jane Forbes Clark said Monday she believed Clemens and Bonds were turned down again because the committee members evaluate those who thrived in the Steroid Era in the same manner as baseball writers.
“I’m not surprised because I think there’s overlap and obviously discussions among the writers, and we have writers represented on that committee,” Clark said.
Bonds has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs during his career. Clemens maintains he’s never used PEDs either. President Donald Trump also gave Clemens his backing before the committee voted.
ROGER CLEMENS, BARRY BONDS MISS OUT ON LATEST CHANCE TO ENTER BASEBALL HALL OF FAME
In this July 19, 2007, file photo, San Francisco Giants’ Barry Bonds hits a three-run home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)
The Baseball Hall of Fame announced last March that candidates who received fewer than five votes from the 16-person panel are not eligible for that committee’s ballot during the next three-year cycle. A candidate who is dropped later reappears on a ballot and again receives fewer than five votes would be barred from future ballot appearances.
If Clemens and Bonds reappear on the committee’s ballot in 2031 and fail to get five votes, they would be barred from future appearances unless the rules are changed again.
New York Yankees pitcher (22) Roger Clemens delivers against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. (Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports )
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“What’s lovely about it is it’s going to open up spots on the ballot so that more people can be reviewed,” Clark said. “They certainly can come back in six years, in ‘31, but between now and then some other people will have a chance because I think that’s really important.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sports
State championship football games set to produce lots of tears
Prepare for lots of tears this weekend at the CIF state championship football games in Orange County.
“No doubt,” Ventura High quarterback Derek Garcia said.
Seniors are playing in their final high school football games. Others will never play again unless it’s intramural football. And others are heading off to college in a matter of days as scholarship athletes, so win or lose, change is coming, which will challenge emotions when reality sets in.
“It’s been a great feeling all week knowing this will be my final high school game because most of the time you go in it’s up in the air,” Garcia said. “Win and you keep going or lose and you go home. It’s a great feeling we made it this far and we’re in the last possible game to play. We’re ready to go.”
Garcia has been playing for his father, Tim, Ventura’s head coach, for years. Now it will end on Friday in a Division 3-AA final against San Francisco St. Ignatius at 8 p.m. at Fullerton High before heading off to Nevada Las Vegas.
“It’s hard sometimes, but it’s been able to bring us so many memories and so many great times together,” Garcia said. “It’s been an awesome journey and wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Some of the teams in state championship games are playing in their 16th game in a long, memorable season.
“It’s been cool to still be playing,” Garcia said.
On Jan. 18, he moves into his UNLV dorm, driving his truck and relying on his parents to help him move. But will his mom let him leave the family nest?
“We’ll see when the day comes,” he said.
Yes, it’s that time for tears from football players and their parents.
There’s a tripleheader on Saturday at Saddleback College that should produce memorable games.
Open Division
De La Salle (12-0) vs. Santa Margarita (10-3), 8 p.m.
A Northern California team has not won in the state’s highest division since 2015. De La Salle’s speed could produce some big plays against the state’s best defense, particularly if 100-meter record holder Jaden Jefferson gets room to run. But Santa Margarita has its own big-play weapon in Trent Mosley, who had 10 catches for 292 yards two weeks ago against Corona Centennial. The pick: Santa Margarita.
Division 1-A
Oxnard Pacifica (15-0) vs. Fresno Central East (13-1), 3:30 p.m.
This is a battle of junior quarterbacks. Pacifica’s Taylor Lee has has passed for 3,742 yards and 51 touchdowns. East has passed for 4,298 yards and 56 touchdowns. If you like offense, this could be the most entertaining game. The pick: Pacifica.
Division 2-A
Rio Hondo Prep (15-0) vs. Sonora (14-0), 11:30 a.m.
This is the game where small schools finally get the spotlight. Both love to run the ball, so the game might get completed in less than two hours. Sonora rushed for 340 yards in its regional final. Rio Hondo Prep had 263 yards rushing and attempted one pass. The pick: Sonora.
Division: 3-AA
Ventura (13-2) vs. San Francisco St. Ignatius (8-6), 8 p.m., Friday, at Fullerton High
Garcia has passed for 3,360 yards and 36 touchdowns and has rushed for 750 yards and 12 touchdowns. The Cougars also have Oregon-bound linebacker Tristan Phillips. St. Ignatius is on a six-game winning streak after getting more consistent play at quarterback. The pick: Ventura.
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