From a pure talent standpoint, Patrick Mahomes might be the best we’ve ever seen.
Luckily, the 49ers have only had to face the quarterback twice in the Kyle Shanahan era. Unfortunately, both games have been disastrous.
The first matchup came in 2018, and was a 38-27 loss in which Jimmy Garoppolo sustained a season-ending knee injury. The next matchup was in the Super Bowl the following season, and we all know how that went.
Sunday’s matchup vs. the Chiefs doesn’t come at an ideal time. San Francisco just lost by a couple scores to the Falcons, and have a ton of injuries on the defensive end. Still, Greg Cosell of NFL Films believes there is some hope that the excellent 49ers defense can take advantage of one of the few flaws in Mahomes’ game that he’s seen on tape.
“This will come across like a bold, controversial statement but it’s based purely on film,” Cosell told with Murph & Mac on Thursday. “We know Mahomes is great, that’s not the point, he’s great. But I watch tape of him and he’s at the point now where he almost moves out of habit and he’s very good when he moves as we know, but there’s a lot of times where he drops back, there’s no pressure, and he moves.
“He can make phenomenal plays when he does that, and he has made phenomenal plays when he does that, but when all is said and done, that breaks down and disrupts the structure of your offense. And they’ve come to count on Mahomes doing that and making phenomenal plays, and because he’s done it so many times, when he does it on Sunday and he throws the interception at the end, it doesn’t change who he is in the minds of people. Nor should it, but it’s an example where he moved and he didn’t make a phenomenal play, and we don’t normally see those on the highlights unless it’s an interception.”
It’s the type of thing that could play into the 49ers’ hands if they are able to get good pressure while also staying in their lanes and containing the edges. Nick Bosa’s return should help.
“Last year they had to settle Mahomes down after he had a stretch of three or four games where he was doing the same thing,” Cosell concluded. “You wonder if the same thing needs to happen.”
It should be noted that the flaw in Mahomes’ game is a nit pick for a quarterback who is unsurprisingly having an excellent start to the season. Mahomes is the third ranked QB in the league according to Pro Football Focus, and is top five in just about every major statistical category.
Slowing Mahomes down will be a tall task, but taking advantage of even a small weakness could prove to be the difference on Sunday.
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