KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Everything is different now, one year after the year, after the 52 touchdowns and the 5,097 passing yards, after so many no-look tosses and one insane left-handed throw, after the oohs and aahs and the MVP trophy, the ubiquitous commercials and the myriad endorsements, and the supreme start to another season. Patrick Mahomes believes this. Just not in the way that some might think.
He’s sitting inside an office at Chiefs headquarters in late December, leaning forward to make his point. Yes, he’s aware of the did-he-really-just-do-that force known as Lamar Jackson, the Ravens quarterback who spent 2019 living an approximation of Mahomes’ 2018 life.