Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the reigning NFL champion Kansas City Chiefs have their work cut out for them perhaps more than ever this season starting this Sunday; they are one of four teams in the NFL hitting a spell on their schedule that will see them playing three games in a span of eleven days. The teams that the Chiefs will be facing, with the exception of the Cleveland Browns, all sport winning records as well: they face the the 3-10 Browns on December 15th; the AFC South leading 8-5 Houston Texans on Saturday, December 21st; and then the AFC North leading 10-3 Pittsburgh Steelers only four days later on Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25th.
Mahomes isn’t thrilled about the prospect of so many tough games in such a short span of time, but confessed it’s simply part of being a professional in the NFL.
“All you can do is focus on the game and the practice that you had that day,” Mahomes told ESPN on Wednesday. “I try to prepare my body all year long for this stretch by tailoring my workouts, tailoring how you practice and you prepare. The coaches do a great job of taking care of us on the practice field. We practice hard as anybody, but they know how to kind of dial it back when we need it.”
Mahomes continued, “It is not a good feeling. I’m excited to play on Christmas to hopefully get back from what we did last year [the Chiefs lost last Christmas to the Los Angeles Raiders, which coach Andy Reid said was “the wake up call they needed to win the Super Bowl”], but you never want to play this many games in this short of time. It’s just not great for your body. But at the end of the day, it’s your job, your profession. You have to come to work and do it.”
The other three NFL teams which will face a similar three-games-in-11-days stint are the Baltimore Ravens, the Texans, and the Steelers — the latter two of which will be playing the Chiefs, whose similar situation might leave them on more equal footing with the Chiefs in terms of overall fatigue.
“That’s a unique situation,” coach Andy Reid added. “You just have to manage it. It is what it is. You make the best of it. One thing is you’ve got to get guys ready for a game, give them the chance to do whatever you present to them. So, I help them out now. We’ve got a normal week right here. So, we’ve got to take care of business.”
Reid, Mahomes and the 12-1 Chiefs will look to take care of plenty of business in the next week and a half.
What do you think of the fact that Patrick Mahomes says ‘it’s not a good feeling’ about the Chiefs playing three games in 11 days? Do you think the intensified schedule will effect their overall play against their opponents? Let us know in the comments.
