Numbers show Pat Mahomes' terrible play in the second half cost Chiefs trip to Super Bowl
What happened to Patrick Mahomes on Sunday? That is a question plenty of Kansas City Chiefs fans are wondering after their shocking defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Chiefs were absolutely rolling right before halftime. They marched the ball down one yard away from the end zone with five seconds on the clock before the half. They led 21-10, and a touchdown may have iced the game. Yet this is when the entire game flipped in the Bengals' favor.
For some reason, Mahomes threw a pass horizontally to Tyreek Hill. He was tackled, the half was over, and the Chiefs left, at least, three points on the board. That play now serves as a bad omen for what was to come for the remainder of the game.
ESPN's QBR statistic measures quarterback play on a 0-100 scale. Mahomes had a mark of 98.0 in the first half against the Bengals, which is nearly perfect. Then, it all came crashing down with a mark of 1.4 in the second half and overtime. This fall in QBR is the largest in the playoffs since 2006, when this rating system first started.
Patrick Mahomes QBR by half Sunday:
1st Half - 98.0
2nd Half/OT - 1.4
It's the largest gap in a player's QBR by half in the playoffs since QBR tracking began in 2006 (min. 10 attempts each half). https://t.co/f6ZmzWQ4tv
The second-half collapse is truly jarring when looking back at how it all went down.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs folded after halftime
The Bengals defense had no answer for the Chiefs offense in the first half. The unit marched down the field three times for touchdowns and were on their way to a fourth before halftime. Then came the pass to Hill that gave the Bengals a ton of momentum going into the locker room.
The Chiefs proceeded to go punt, punt, interception, punt, punt on their first five drives of the second half. The only points came via a field goal at the end of the half to send the game to overtime.
The first interception was an ugly one that Mahomes threw directly into the hands of B.J. Hill. Yet his defense forced an interception of their own later in the half when the score was 21-21. He was simply unable to capitalize.
UNBELIEVABLE. MAHOMES FELL APART IN THE SECOND HALF AND OVERTIME, GAVE UP A 21-3 LEAD, BLEW THE SUPER BOWL TO A QB IN HIS FIRST FULL SEASON OF STARTING.
Yet even with the disastrous half, the signal-caller had a shot at redemption in overtime. Instead, he nearly threw an interception on the second play of the period. The Bengals, then, stole his next pass on a beautiful tip drill to set up the game-winning field goal.
This type of play was shocking to see from Mahomes. He is supposed to be the guy who could scramble around and make any throw at any time. While some may say his reign is over, it's also possible the Bengals just showed up with a great gameplan after seeing the Buffalo Bills collapse against the Chiefs in the Divisional Round.
Mahomes was bound to have an ugly playoff performance at some point. The fact it all came after halftime is what led to so much shock for fans in Kansas City.
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