KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs have fallen behind by at least 10 points in 22 of Patrick Mahomes’ 81 career games, including the postseason.
It happened again Sunday at San Francisco.
But amazingly, the Chiefs are 13-9 in those games after a 44-23 victory against the 49ers.
That history — Mahomes’ .591 career win percentage by trailing by double figures at any point in the game — is unprecedented in NFL history.
It’s stunning really, but that success helps explain why Kansas City didn’t panic after spotting San Francisco a 10-0 lead in the first quarter..
“Having done it [before] and there’s so much time left in the game, I’m going to compete until that final whistle, until Coach (Reid) takes me off that football field,” Mahomes said. “Whenever you get down in these games, [it’s about] how can you go out there and have a positive next play?”
It starts with Chiefs coach Andy Reid, but Mahomes is the engine that drives the Chiefs’ incredible penchant for comebacks.
“Offensively, we never think we’re out of the game,” wide receiver Mecole Hardman Jr. said. “And we feel like if we get in the end zone, our defense is eventually going to step up and get us a stop.”
That’s not to say that confidence is boundless.
Down 10-0, even Mahomes knew it was critical to score on the second drive against the Niners.
“After the pick, I knew we needed to go down and get points on our next drive,” said Mahomes, who was intercepted on the opening drive. “You don’t want them to get too far ahead because of how efficient and good their run game is.”
Still, even this season, the Chiefs already have had plenty of experience with big early deficits.
Kansas City overcame a 10-0 second-quarter lead Sept. 15 in a win against the Los Angeles Chargers and spotted Las Vegas a 17-0 lead before rallying Oct. 10 for a one-point win.
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The Chiefs are now 3-0 on the season when trailing by 10-plus points in a game.
“I think we actually play better when we’re down,” defensive end Chris Jones said. “I don’t like to be down, because it puts so much pressure on us to go out and score or go out and make a stop, but I guess we like challenging ourselves at this point.”
The experience, while not always ideal, should benefit Kansas City as the season hits the stretch run in November and beyond.
“No one got rattled,” Jones said. “Everyone stayed subtle, and we came together as a team. I said at the beginning of this year we’re going to face a lot of adversity as a team, and it’s continued to build our character as a whole.”
