Healthy, Mature Kansas City Chiefs Superstar Patrick Mahomes Readies For The Match

During the offseason prior to the 2021 NFL season, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had to recover from toe surgery.

Heading into the 2022 campaign, Mahomes has been fully healthy from the get-go.

“Being able to train right out of the gate, that was huge for me. I feel like I’m in a way better spot physically,” Mahomes said before joking. “My golf game is in a better spot because I get to play more.”

Mahomes’ driving and putting — not his scrambling and passing — have been at the forefront this week.

Mahomes will participate in Capital One’s
COF
The Match on Wednesday. He and Josh Allen are teaming up against their more veteran quarterback counterparts — Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers — in the 12-hole, alternate shot, match play at the Wynn Golf Club in Paradise, Nev.

The pair that finishes with the lowest number of combined strokes wins each hole of the event, which will be broadcast on TNT at 6:30 p.m. ET.

“It’s going to be really cool to get out there,” Mahomes said. “And me and Josh (will) go out there, get a W against the old guys.”

In the weeks leading up to The Match, jokes have been par — lame pun intended — for the course.

“They’ve been trying to talk trash,” Mahomes said. “But you can tell it’s either scripted or old jokes that they found on Twitter.”

Rodgers is coming off a win last summer alongside Bryson DeChambeau, while Brady, who was paired with Phil Mickelson, seeks redemption in his third appearance in The Match.

General passes for the event cost $250 plus tax and fees, and The Match’s previous editions have totaled about $33 million for various organizations while donating nearly 17 million meals to Feeding America.

“We will give it all back to charity,” Mahomes said, “which is a big part of that thing.”

Mahomes not only spent part of his offseason honing his golf game, but also throwing to receivers, including new additions Marquez Valdes-Scantling, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Corey Coleman and Justin Watson. Collectively, they will try to replace the contributions of six-time Pro Bowler Tyreek Hill who was traded to the Miami Dolphins.

Mahomes spent almost a month in his native Texas throwing to different receivers, and they ran routes and practiced plays from the Chiefs playbook.

“You kind of build that chemistry,” Mahomes said, “working out with them, throwing with them. We go to lunch, go to dinner, stuff like that.”

During organized team activities, Mahomes said he has already seen the benefits of that extra time together.

He hopes that camaraderie will pay off in the form of another deep playoff run. The Chiefs have enjoyed a spectacular stretch, reaching at least the AFC Championship Game in each of Mahomes’ four years as starter.

Mahomes, who will turn 27 in September, is also maturing. Since the 2021 season ended, his daughter, Sterling, started walking; he married his high school sweetheart, Brittany Matthews, and they’re expecting their second child.

“I’ve talked to him about that,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. “He knows that this is another step in life and he understands that.”

Mahomes also has experience with the Wynn’s golf course. He and Travis Kelce, the longest-tenured Chiefs player, won April’s celebrity 8AM Golf Invitational hosted by Justin Timberlake.

The Chiefs teammates shot 18-under par to best actors Kathryn Newton and Chace Crawford by a single shot.

“We already won one tournament on that course. So who knows? We might get a second W,” Kelce said. “I hope Pat brings it home — him and Josh.”

Along the way viewers can expect Allen and Mahomes to dish out plenty of friendly digs, insults and boasts.

“When we get out on the golf course and we get to really talk trash, I know me and Josh are gonna do that,” Mahomes said. “And we’re going to win The Match as well.”