Patrick Mahomes reminded us he’s more than just a rocket arm

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

As if his arm wasn’t enough to deal with, Patrick Mahomes can also make a defense look silly with his legs.

It’s easy to forget that Patrick Mahomes — thrower of 50 touchdown passes in 2018 — is capable of burning a defense with more than just his arm.

The Tennessee Titans learned firsthand what Mahomes can do with his legs when he ran through half the defense on a 27-yard touchdown just before halftime in the AFC Championship.

Atrocious tackling aside, that’s a tremendous play by someone who isn’t particularly known for his scrambling ability. Mahomes beat two Titans players to the sideline, turned upfield, and weaved through three more defenders for a run that spanned 64 yards in all.

It was a reminder that Mahomes’ rushing ability probably deserves more credit. The rushing touchdown was the longest by a quarterback in the postseason since Colin Kaepernick’s 56-yard run in 2013. It was the longest in a conference championship since Kordell Stewart broke free for a 33-yard touchdown in 1998.

Mahomes did well on the ground in the Divisional Round, as well. He led both teams in rushing during the Chiefs’ 51-31 win against the Texans by running for 53 yards on only seven carries.

When the Titans beat the Chiefs during the 2019 regular season, Mahomes was making his return from a knee injury that keep him out for two games. It’s the only time in his NFL career that he finished a game with zero rushing attempts. He still managed to throw for 446 yards and three touchdowns in that loss, though.

Mahomes is thought of a thrower instead of a runner, because — well — he is. He threw for five touchdowns against the Texans and fired some lasers against the Titans too.

Mahomes isn’t Lamar Jackson, but when he’s healthy, he’s more than capable of picking big chunks of yardage on his own. He used the Titans defense to show he can make tacklers look pretty silly too.