NFL Notebook, Week 7: Patrick Mahomes’ injury, trades, awards and more
By Zach Cohen
Mahomes, Moore and Mayhem
When Patrick Mahomes went down with what looked like a terrible injury last Thursday night, the football world collectively held its breath. You can make an argument that Mahomes is now the face of the NFL, so seeing him go down sent the NFL world underwater and they’ve yet to resurface.
Luckily, Mahomes will reportedly be missing just three weeks, which is better than what was originally thought.
From @NFLGameDay: #Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is out 3-5 weeks, either back in Week 11 or after the bye in Week 13. Two key points: He avoided major injury by not moving on the field and surgery wasn't discussed at all during the week. pic.twitter.com/tbW7zAXDvc
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 20, 2019
In the meantime, the Chiefs will place all of their eggs in the basket of… Matt Moore? Moore skipped last season as he took on scouting duties for his former team, the Miami Dolphins. It’s hard to believe that a few short months ago, Moore was scouting at the NFL Combine.
Now, he’s coming off a primetime victory where he threw for 117 yards and a touchdown on 10 for 19 passing. That’s not bad at all, but is it sustainable in the high-powered Kansas City offense?
The team had lost two consecutive games prior to Thursday night’s demolition of Denver, so clearly there are problems beyond the quarterback position. While there are definitely better options out there, remember that quarterback is the hardest job in football (and maybe all of sports). Moore was likely chosen due to his familiarity with Kansas City’s scheme, something that is so crucial yet gets overlooked so often.
Putting the scheme fit aside, Moore will have to step up his game if the Chiefs are to hold their own against their next two opponents, the Packers and Vikings.