KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When the clock struck 10 Saturday night at the hotel where football’s greatest winners gather before home games, the most important man in the ballroom had a hood over his head and a glazed, impenetrable look in his eyes.
In less than 20 hours, Patrick Mahomes would do what he always does in late January — attempt to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to victory in the AFC Championship Game against a formidable foe, this time against a Buffalo Bills team whose own quarterback, Josh Allen, had spent the past five months playing the sport at a transcendent level.
Many football fans are sick of watching Mahomes shine in such settings and some spout conspiracy theories that ascribe some of his and the Chiefs’ success to supposed help from NFL officiating crews. There’s a lot of noise, but in the moments that define him, Mahomes can tune it out and lock in like few other competitors in the history of the planet.
Two hours before midnight, on the eve of an inevitably epic showdown, Mahomes was in a zone. And even in a crowded meeting room, he was very much alone.
The transformation was so striking that Matt Nagy, the Chiefs offensive coordinator, felt compelled to text his wife, Stacey, about what he was witnessing: “Pat’s slowly turning into his superhero…
