San Diego, CA
Tom Krasovic: Patrick Mahomes may deprive San Diego’s Fred Warner of another Super Bowl ring
Patrick Mahomes kneeled out the victory and removed his helmet.
The first person to greet him was Fred Warner, who shook his hand as the two embraced.
If only Warner had been able to grab ahold of Mahomes a half hour earlier, the outcome Sunday may have been different from the Chiefs beating the 49ers once again.
But isn’t that often the case with Mahomes?
It seemed cruel that the quarterback’s latest burst of clutch playmaking came at the expense of Warner, the All-Pro linebacker who graduated from Mission Hills High School in San Marcos and trained under one of Junior Seau’s sons on Oceanside’s beach.
After all, if not for Mahomes being Mahomes, Warner could own a pair of Super Bowl rings.
The QB of San Francisco’s defense, Warner couldn’t prevent Mahomes from reprising the quick-thinking, whatever-it-takes style that’s brought him three Super Bowl rings and now has helped make Kansas City (6-0) the NFL’s only unbeaten team through Week 7.
Punctuating a fascinating game for football lovers who find intrigue in seeing how an offense’s playmakers and coaches respond to rare adversity, Mahomes eluded Warner and a second 49ers linebacker to author his career-long 33-yard rush in Kansas City’s 28-18 road victory in a rematch of two recent Super Bowls.
Warner is a sure tackler, perhaps the best inside linebacker of his generation and a three-time All-Pro.
Mahomes, whose football speed far exceeds his track speed, got away from the 6-foot-3, 230-pounder on a rollout to his left after eluding All-Pro edge rusher Nick Bosa.
Warner’s quick read and efficient angle had given him a chance to down the QB near the sideline for a loss.
Mahomes jelly-legged him with a fake pitch, brushed off Warner’s lunging grasp and scooted to the 4-yard line by causing linebacker Dee Winters to whiff as well. The QB’s 1-yard north-south scramble for a touchdown capped the 79-yard drive and increased the lead to 21-12 with 14 minutes left. Ballgame.
The 49ers would prefer Mahomes had followed his dad, ex-pitcher Pat Mahomes, into big-league baseball.
The QB improved to 5-0 against them including the two Super Bowl victories in which Warner and Co. led by double digits in the fourth quarter.
Sounding off
Led by head coach and play-caller Andy Reid, the Chiefs won as 1.5-point underdog because their offense adapted better. Kansas City was lacking four key playmakers; the 49ers were missing their top three receivers and star running back Christian McCaffrey.
The combination of defensive excellence and teammates’ injuries put extreme heat on each QB.
Mahomes fared better of the two, though Brock Purdy didn’t crumble as several QBs may have.
Throw out most of the QB stats. Errors by raw receivers contributed to one of Mahomes’ two interceptions and one of Purdy’s three interceptions. A batted pass on a quick throw dealt Mahomes his second interception.
The game’s best unit was Steve Spagnuolo’s defense. Crucially, it stuffed 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan’s highly ranked ground game in the first half, forcing Purdy to win it.
What did the outcome mean for each team?
The Chiefs remained first in the race for a No. 1 playoff seed, which brings the AFC’s only first-round bye.
It shouldn’t be alarming to the 49ers (3-4) that they fell behind NFC West-leading Seattle (4-3). This team still has a Super Bowl-contending core led by Warner, Bosa, Purdy and offensive tackle Trent Williams. Add a healthy McCaffrey, and late-season roll can happen. On the other hand, several other NFC-playoff contenders have improved more than the Niners have since last season.
Reid and staff performed well once again.
Designs involving multiple tight ends and commitment to an interior ground game led by center Creed Humphrey and running back Kareem Hunt helped offset first-half injuries to receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and Xavier Worthy and mismatches at left tackle.
Reid brought in an NFL-record .840 winning percentage when coming off a bye week.
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