Patrick Mahomes looked in midseason form in Tuesday’s practice look

It’s always impressive to watch Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes at any practice.

Yet Tuesday’s Day 12 workout in St. Joseph felt particularly special.

On the second 11-on-11 snap, Mahomes hit wide receiver Tyquan Thornton on an intermediate out, threading it between two defenders in front of the right sideline.

Later, in 7-on-7, he dropped a corner-route dime, right in front of defensive back Chamarri Conner in a place where only Thornton could catch it. On the next play, Mahomes flashed a sidearm pass to tight end Travis Kelce. During the practice’s final 11-on-11 period, flushed to the right, sideline, he zipped a ball on a 30-degree angle back toward the middle of the field, hitting wide receiver Xavier Worthy in stride.

With the Chiefs’ initial preseason game set for Saturday against the Arizona Cardinals, the two-time MVP already looks in midseason form.

“I really felt like today was one of our — as a group and in particular with Pat — one of our better days with those type of throws,” said offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. “Some downfield stuff where the timing element [clicked]. It wasn’t one of those deals where you’re scrambling and throwing the ball away and catching a ball off-timing. These were all on-timing throws, and guys were making great catches. I was really pleased with that.”

The last time Mahomes played in a game was the nightmare of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. Without blitzing, the Philadelphia Eagles pressured the quarterback 16 times throughout the game, sacking him six times and preventing him from ever finding a rhythm.

Now, with an offensive line boosted by rookie left tackle Josh Simmons, the prevailing thought is that Mahomes’ sense of feeling protected will lead him back into the MVP conversation.

“He’s really excited,” added Nagy. “He’s motivated in the right way — it’s just how he is, it’s who he is. We spent a lot of time in OTAs going back to the basics on a lot of stuff. We’re graduating now with these wide receivers — working on that timing — and I think you’re seeing a trust element with him and several guys. You’ll get to see some of that too with these guys in the preseason. We’ll get some people that stand out and get to show what they can do. Every year we probably say the same thing with Pat, but he creates [his] own edge for him. He wants to be great. He wants to be the best. And he wants to be coached hard. So that’s what we try to do.”

Nagy has said that the staff emphasizes Mahomes’ timing and footwork every offseason, always careful not to dampen his improvisation. In Nagy’s eyes, the fundamentals can always be seasoned; when it comes to Mahomes’ mental makeup, however, he would be hard-pressed to find anyone better.

“We all see what he does out here — whether it’s people videoing plays on their phones at practice in training camp — but we see it in practice when it’s closed to the public,” explained Nagy. “What a lot of people don’t get to see, even [those] in the building, is how he prepares when he gets locked in. I think about during the week — from usually a Wednesday to a Saturday — every morning at 7 o’clock, he has a routine he follows.

“There’s an obsession that he has with being perfect at what he does on the mental side. He doesn’t take calling a play for granted — getting the formation right. He wants to be great at that. And when the guys and his teammates see that, it goes onto them as well.”

Mahomes’ in-week grind is long and tiresome, but according to Nagy, the weekly Sunday showcase makes it all worth it.

Four weeks ago, FanDuelTV’s Kay Adams asked Mahomes about his mentality coming off such a disappointing finish.

“I’ve had to sit back and listen to people talk and talk,” started the quarterback, “like, let’s just play football and handle it all out there. I don’t really want to talk about it. I just want to go out there and show who we are as the Kansas City Chiefs.”

In other words, Mahomes has heard the noise.

“That burn to win is at the highest level of probably any player in the NFL,” finished Nagy. “He’s built different that way. And I think when you have that, it goes on to these other players on the team — offense, defense, special teams. To us as coaches, you have that. You want to make sure you’re doing everything possible. He’s a competitor, so every game is going to be close when you have him on your side. You know he’s going to give you a great chance. That’s where he’s at.

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