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Patrick Mahomes reminds NFL world he’s still QB1 with season-high four TD passes

Patrick Mahomes is coming into Week 8 having thrown just six touchdowns and a surprising eight interceptions. Mahomes has heard all the noise that he’s having a down year by his standards. The three-time Super Bowl champion will respond by throwing four touchdown passes versus a downtrodden Las Vegas Raiders team. It’ll mark the first time he’s tossed four touchdowns in a single game since Week 7 of last season.

Mahomes’ stellar outing will lead Kansas City to a blowout win and improve the final remaining undefeated team to 7-0. A win will make the Chiefs the seventh reigning Super Bowl champion to win each of their first seven games. It will also give Mahomes 81 career regular-season wins, the third most ever by a quarterback in their first eight seasons.

Up: The Idea of Power Slot DeAndre Hopkins

Any team wanting to get the most out of Hopkins is going to want him to do his thing on the outside, but as Hopkins gets a bit older — he turned 32 years old in June — getting him inside and matched up on linebackers or smaller slot defenders could be a huge new advantage.

Think about some of the spacing Rashee Rice was getting in the middle of the field. Hopkins might not have the same juice after the catch, but he’s more than capable of using his body control to win in the middle of the field and take advantage of that space.

We know what Hopkins can be, but how differently the Chiefs use their new receiver could determine how big the impact of this trade will be this season.

“I guess, just like any system, and I think you have veterans in the room, you have guys that been here,” said Hardman. “So I think it’s just up to those guys that have been here too, kind of like, show the way, what’s going on and how we do certain things and how we work. They just come here, get to know the system, and go to work, man, get better every day.”

The Chiefs were awaiting the official completion of the reported DeAndre Hopkins trade, so they couldn’t discuss adding the multiple-time Pro Bowler. Hardman reflected on his personal experience last season during the trade deadline.

Oh, for me, man, honestly, speaking of my situation, I came back and was ready to run it. I was good. I was in the ground running. I knew what was going on. I knew the system, but anybody else, I already know what kind of what they go through.” said Hardman. “I mean, I guess it’s similar: you get on the flight, you get over here, you get acclimated, you get your jersey number, i don’t know, it’s a lot of stuff that goes into it, but for what I did, I just hit the ground running and was ready to contribute in a way I could.”

Hopkins isn’t the player he once was, but he is enough to warrant a frightening optic of a scrambling Mahomes tossing the rock to one of the modern era’s great ball clamps. Tuning in immediately to the Chiefs offense is a tough ask for even the league’s best, but Hopkins is as qualified as anybody to meet Mahomes’ need for creativity beyond his primary route as he matches his quarterback’s off-script scrambling exploits. His arrival meanwhile eases the pressure on Xavier Worthy to expand his route tree beyond the conventional vertical threat that had been mapped out for him in his rookie year.

Asked if Hopkins would be ready to go Sunday, Reid replied: “Why wait, right?”

Raiders storyline to watch: Rookie TE Brock Bowers has been a decidedly silver lining in a black cloud over the Raiders. The No. 13 overall pick leads all tight ends in receptions (47) and yards (477). And he should be a primary target for QB Gardner Minshew against the Chiefs, who are giving up league-high single-game averages in receptions (7.2) and yards (83.5) to tight ends. — Paul Gutierrez

Stat to know: Raiders DE Maxx Crosby has generated 36 QB pressures in his career against Mahomes, which is the most by any opposing defender against the future Hall of Famer.

Bold prediction: Chiefs WR DeAndre Hopkins will catch a touchdown pass. He could have a limited role in his first week in Kansas City, but I imagine the Chiefs would love to use him in the red zone. Mahomes will trust Hopkins to come down with a contested catch. — Walder

Bosa has played only 56 snaps in three games this season, with back and then hip issues.

Bosa said he actually developed a glute strain that affected his sciatic nerve leading up to the Week 3 game against the Steelers. The leg gave out during the game and the injury has caused “some of the worst pain” he’s ever had.

“I definitely didn’t expect it to be as bad as it has been,” Bosa said, via Kris Rhim of ESPN. “And then it just kept dragging and dragging. Here we’re five weeks later, or however long it’s been, so it was tough.”

Tagovailoa has been in concussion protocol since Sept. 12 after suffering the third concussion of his career during a loss to the Buffalo Bills. He was placed on injured reserve five days later and missed the team’s next four games.

The league’s leading passer from a season ago was cleared to return to practice this week, in accordance with NFL policy, and officially cleared protocol after practicing in full Thursday.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Tagovailoa said he’d been symptom-free since Sept. 13, but he understood the team’s decision to place him on IR and “protect me from myself.” He consulted with “several top medical experts across the country” over the past month and “zero” of them, McDaniel said, recommended retirement.