Bucs Still Weary of Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes Despite 'Down Year'

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are facing Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, and they'll be ready for him on Sunday night.

Oct 20, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) reacts after the Chiefs scored a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are set to play the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football. And although head coach Todd Bowles has stressed that you play the team, not just one player, this one player happens to be pretty special.

He's quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He's having a bit of a down year this year. And the Bucs won't be lured into a false sense of security.

Mahomes has thrown just eight touchdowns this year with nine interceptions to go along with it, and he's only 16th in passing yards this year. But his Kansas City Chiefs are 7-0 this year, he's 7th in ESPN's QBR rankings (Baker Mayfield is 16th) and he's completed almost 70% of his passes.

Bowles knows that Mahomes is still dangerous. And when asked about him on Friday, he had a lot of good things to say.

“I think he sees the game so much better. Obviously, since he’s older, he’ll see it a lot better, but he sees stunts at the line, he knows when he can take off, he knows where the line of scrimmage is, when to dump the ball off…He knows what to do to win the game," Bowles said. "He’s not really looking for stats, he’s looking to win the ballgame. That’s very rare as a quarterback. That’s a winning formula. The ability – the athletic ability – he has is unquestioned with his arm and his legs. He can see the game. It comes easy to him. He makes all 11 guys play honest and be on their A-game to beat him.”

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That's a statement echoed by his defense, who he needs to understand that. Mahomes can beat you in a number of ways, and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. knows that as much. He's played the Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes three times, and although his one win is a Super Bowl win (and he'd take that all day) Mahomes and the Chiefs have beaten the team soundly in two other meetings, once in 2020 and the other in 2022.

Winfield Jr. has seen what Mahomes can do. And to understand how to beat him and ensure he doesn't win, he knows the key is understanding all the ways in which he does.

“He just knows how to win – he’s a winner," Winfield Jr. said. You see that every week. Even if he doesn’t play his best, he finds a way to win the game. That’s something that we know going into the game…I know he has some interceptions and stuff like that, but he finds a way to win. We’ve got to do our best to not let that happen.”

Winfield Jr. stressed that Mahomes can do so many things off-platform and out of the pocket, so it will require being disciplined in a hostile environment. And when he was asked about that "down year" Mahomes was having, he made it understood that Mahomes won't be underestimated.

"He’s still a great quarterback and he still has weapons everywhere," Winfield Jr. said. "You never know. You’ve just got to come out there and we’ve got to do our jobs and hopefully the ball comes our way.” 

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