From the gloom of a miserable home playoff exit to Tennessee came hope for Kansas City fans after the Chiefs turned their franchise over to young gunslinger Pat Mahomes. Gridiron speaks exclusively to the man with Arrowhead ambitions resting on his shoulders.

Week 17 of the season can be a fickle beast, often lacking the prescribed drama anticipated by NFL bosses who schedule 16 divisional contests. By that stage, much of the postseason picture is clear, leaving a series of fixtures between battered and bruised teams already contemplating a much-needed break, and playoff-bound squads giving key starters a rest. Last season, for example, was so devoid of do-or-die drama that the NFL opted against flexing any games into the Sunday Night Football window.

Yet look closely at what can be football’s weirdest week (the final preseason slate aside) and you’ll find some hidden gems. Tim Tebow, for example, signed off the 2010 campaign by throwing for 205 yards and two touchdowns in a tight loss to San Diego, setting the stage for the Tebow Mania craze the following year. But while that brief madness died as quickly as it was born, the same venue for Tebow’s sign-off – Denver’s Mile High Stadium – might well have provided the birthplace for a true star at the end of the 2017 campaign.

“I found out I’d be starting after the [Week 16] Miami game,” Kansas City quarterback Pat Mahomes tells Gridiron. “They told me right after that that I was going to get the chance to start and it was a great experience. It was something that I’d always dreamed of so to be a part of it was awesome.”

From the moment the 22-year-old threaded a first-quarter dime between two flailing Broncos defenders into the arms of Demetrius Harris 35 yards downfield, you immediately felt – in the blink of an eye – that the Chiefs’ whole future had changed. “I went into that game feeling like we could score anytime,” head coach Andy Reid told the Around The NFL Podcast during the offseason. “Once I got into the game, I felt the same thing.”

What followed was a largely good, sometimes spotty, display from a quarterback showcasing the breathtaking arm strength that persuaded Reid and Co. to give up two first-round picks to grab him in the 2017 NFL Draft. Mahomes adds: “It was a trial by fire, but I got to get in the game, against a great defense, and we had some success and won the game. It was an awesome, eye-opening experience that let me know I can have some success in this league, so I’m excited for the future now and to go against those guys a couple more times a year, every year.”

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In the context of Mahomes’ immediate prospects, another game may well have had the most telling impact. One week after the young gunslinger had offered Chiefs players and coaches an insight into the future, they were forced to deal with their uncomfortably familiar present: a meek playoff exit at the hands of unfancied Tennessee in their own backyard.

It was the third time year in five years that the Chiefs had flattered to deceive in the postseason, and yet more evidence to augment the argument that incumbent signal-caller Alex Smith – despite leading the NFL in passer rating last season – could only take Kansas City so far. Others might suggest Reid is the issue, and it’s certainly true that his issues in the Midwest – comical game management chief among them – have been eerily similar to those that undermined his tenure in Philadelphia. Wherever you fall on that debate, most of those who watched the Chiefs surrender a 21-3 lead against the Titans by failing to register any second-half points could agree one thing: Kansas City needed a spark.

It was time to hand the kid the keys.

Confirmation that Reid would take that route quickly followed. The rush of journalists from the amusement park hosting last year’s Super Bowl media party confirmed something big had happened, and it had: Alex Smith was traded to Washington. Mahomes, bound for Minnesota, was suddenly the talk of the town.

“I was actually at my brother’s basketball game before I flew out for Super Bowl weekend, but it’s something where I’ve been trying to prepare to be the starter ever since I was in the NFL,” reveals Mahomes. “Alex was an awesome guy, a great guy who really helped me in my development as a young quarterback, but I was just excited to get the reins and get out there and play football.”

The latter part would have to wait. Mahomes was about to be bait heading into a cage of tigers, the hottest property in the mini-ecosystem that is Radio Row during Super Bowl week. In a room filled with stars from the worlds of sport and entertainment, the lad with the Sideshow Bob hair was suddenly the one everybody wanted a piece of.

Those fortunate enough to grab an interview found an extremely poised 22-year-old ready to take his chance – something he attributes as much to his predecessor as anybody else. “He’s an awesome dude,” adds Mahomes. “I’ve built a great relationship with him and he’s someone I can always talk to as he’s a good friend as well as having been a teammate. I’m glad he got the deal where he is, and I’m excited for his future as well.

“He was a great guy the entire time during my rookie year. He was someone who was a leader on the team, someone who was really just trying to do his job and win football games. I was excited to be [learning] under a guy like that, someone who kinda embraced me and embraced being able to do his role as well as bring me along.”

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The situation must have felt eerily familiar to Smith.

It was he, lest we forget, who Colin Kaepernick usurped, to be essentially handed the keys of a Ferrari bound for deep runs into the postseason. The memories of seeing his former team come one yard shy of a Lombardi Trophy must still irk Smith, and yet he approached an identical situation with Mahomes in a manner beyond more illustrious former quarterbacks like Brett Favre, and even arguably poorer ones such as Joe Flacco.

As a result, Mahomes – like Kaepernick before him – is immediately ready to make an impact. “[Alex] being able to understand coverages and know how to dissect a defense is something that will help me in my entire career,” the young passer admits. “He really understood how to watch film and do all those things. You get a veteran guy like that, who’s had success in the NFL, and you can always learn from that stuff.”

The challenge for Mahomes next season will be thriving without ‘big brother’ Smith and, just as importantly, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, who moved to the Chicago Bears this offseason. Yet, for all Nagy’s impact was immense, there is little doubt that the brains trust behind Kansas City’s offense begins with head coach Reid, who – for all his flaws – is an offensive mastermind who could end this campaign as high as sixth on the list of wins for an NFL head coach.

“He’s someone who’s been through it all as a head coach and around football,” adds Mahomes, “and he’s had so much knowledge that I’ve learned from him every single day. But I never take that for granted – he’s an awesome coach and I’m excited just to have him.

“He’s awesome at helping me learn the system but, at the same time, letting me play my game, and I think that’s a big thing. I’m kind of a freelance gunslinger they say, and he knows when to tell me to stay in the system and when to let me play and make plays.”

As Mahomes speaks, it’s hard not to think about the match made in heaven: veteran quarterback guru/schematic genius meets ‘freelance gunslinger’. Even as debate rages over the merits of Reid’s wider tenure – the Chiefs have reached the postseason four times in his five years at Arrowhead, but never threatened to win the big one – his work with signal-callers remains undisputed. After all, he is coming off a year in which his system became more diverse than ever, so much so that a limited-but-talented passer like Smith was in the MVP discussion. Imagine, then, what could happen with Mahomes throwing passes as Tyreek Hill and new recruit Sammy Watkins attack the sidelines, all with the Herculean figure of Travis Kelce dominating in the middle of the field.

The offseason recruiting of Watkins was telling, as was the fact that Washington were so quick to offer grateful arms to recruit Smith via trade. He is undoubtedly an upper-echelon passer, but Kansas City are in football’s no-man’s land, the purgatory of being very good yet not quite good enough. Their hope is Mahomes and Watkins are the missing pieces.

“For us, the expectations are the Super Bowl,” reveals their new quarterback. “For us, we’re going to go out every single day, every single week, and compete and compete, get better and get better, so that we’re in the Super Bowl. And, if we’re in the Super Bowl, we’re going to win it. So that’s us right now, get better every single day and strive for that goal.”

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Just before halftime of his memorable debut in Denver, Mahomes stood in the pistol on first-and-goal from the six as broadcaster CBS showed a stat that illustrated Kansas City were the fourth-worst team in the NFL at converting red-zone opportunities (converting 42.6% of the time). He took the snap, surveyed the field, spotted an opening left and took off before diving towards the pylon. The referee signalled he’d scored his first NFL touchdown.

Except he hadn’t; Mahomes stepped out before hitting pay-dirt, meaning he was soon handing the ball to full-back Anthony Sherman – who finished the job. He says: “The statistics don’t matter… to me. It’s all about the win and we got that so it was just a great experience to go out there and do that. It was an experience that will help me a ton going into this next year, knowing that I can have success in this league if I stay and play how I know I can play.”

He speaks without even a hint of ruefulness in his voice, perhaps understandably. Mahomes, who ended the game by leading a game-winning field-goal drive, surely knows a first NFL touchdown will be quickly around the corner next season, along with a whole host of other ‘stats’.

Not that he is bothered.

“I came from Texas Tech and had a ton of stats and didn’t win enough games. For me, it’s all about winning. I want to win the Super Bowl. I want to win the championship, and that’s it.”

BREAKOUTS

FULL NAME: Patrick Lavon Mahomes II

POSITION: Quarterback

DATE OF BIRTH: September 17, 1995

PLACE OF BIRTH: Tyler, TX

WHO THE HECK? Cannon-armed QB charged with taking Kansas City over the hump and back to a Super Bowl, having spent much of his rookie year learning at the knee of Alex Smith.

BEST OF TIMES: Mahomes confirmed he was one to watch by setting multiple NCAA, Big 12 and school records as his Texas Tech Red Raiders lost 59-66 to Baker Mayfield’s Oklahoma Sooners in October 2016. A new NCAA mark for single-game total offense (819 yards), including a record-equalling 734 passing yards, combined with Mayfield’s numbers to set a new high for combined yardage in a game at 1,708. Mahomes fell one short of the record for most attempts at 88, while the 125 combined points were only the second most all-time by two ranked teams.

WORST OF TIMES: As well as being a true dual-threat quarterback, Mahomes was a highly-regarded two-sport athlete before having to give up dreams of following his father into Major League Baseball in order to concentrate on his football career. Mahomes Sr pitched in the MLB between 1992-2003, while Patrick II was drafted in the 37^th round of the 2014 MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers but never signed a contract.

FULL NAME: Andrew ‘Andy’ Walter Reid

POSITION: Head Coach

DATE OF BIRTH: March 19, 1958

PLACE OF BIRTH: Los Angeles, CA

WHO THE HECK? Veteran team leader rising up NFL record lists, but yet to realise the dream of taking a franchise all the way to Super Bowl glory.

BEST OF TIMES: As head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, Reid reached four consecutive NFC championship game between 2001-04, finally making the Super Bowl at the fourth attempt. Having become only the second NFC East squad to sweep its divisional rivals, the 2004 Eagles clinched the top seed before beating the Atlanta Falcons to make it to Super Bowl XXXIX – where they came up three points short of the New England Patriots.

WORST OF TIMES: After eight more rollercoaster years in the City of Brotherly Love, Reid was fired as head coach, only to be snapped up by the Chiefs. His record in KC is similar to his early years in Philly, but still lacks a return to the big dance following a series of frustrating first round playoff exits.

HEADER

MAHOMES vs OKLAHOMA SOONERS (October 22, 2016)

PASSING

COMP ATT PCT YDS TD INT QBR

52 88 59.1 734 5 1 145.6

RUSHING

ATT YDS LNG FUML TD

12 85 22 0 2

MAHOMES vs DENVER BRONCOS (December 31, 2017)

PASSING

COMP ATT PCT YDS TD INT QBR

22 35 62.8 284 0 1 58.2

RUSHING

ATT YDS LNG FUML TD

7 10 5 0 0

HEADER

ALL-TIME WINS BY HEAD COACH – NFL

Coach Games Wins %

Don Shula 490 328 66.9

George Halas 497 318 64.0

Bill Belichick 368 250 67.9

Tom Landry 418 250 59.8

Curly Lambeau 380 226 59.5

Paul Brown 326 213 65.3

Marty Schottenheimer 327 200 61.2

Chuck Noll 342 193 56.4

Dan Reeves 357 190 53.2

Chuck Knox 334 186 55.7

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Andy Reid 304 183 60.2