Tuesday Trenches: Mahomes sits alone, offseason schedule, and more

Patrick Mahomes is Superman. But even Superman has a weakness……other than being a nerd.

Patrick Mahomes could retire tomorrow and he would absolutely, without question, belong in the Hall of Fame.

Not since Tom Brady’s incredible stint of back-to-back Super Bowls have we seen domination in the postseason like this. The Kansas City Chiefs spent the entire season looking like a shadow of their former selves, and then turned it around when it mattered most.

This postseason showed me another thing other than Mahomes being on a tier by himself. It showed me the NFL postseason misses Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.

The only two quarterbacks to beat Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs are Brady and Burrow, and Brady’s retired and never probably not coming back. Without Burrow and the Bengals, Mahomes rolled into the playoffs relatively unopposed. In the four games they’ve played against each other, Burrow has defeated Mahomes three times, twice in the regular season and once in the 2022 AFC Championship game. He lost only the 2023 AFC Championship game by three points.

I’m not here saying Joe Burrow is better than Patrick Mahomes. They’re different. Mahomes is possibly the most physically gifted quarterback I’ve ever seen. He’s done things that quarterback coaches actively tell their players not to try because it shouldn’t work and usually ends in disaster. Things like throwing across his body, or throwing while he’s diving and parallel to the ground. Crazy things.

What I am saying is Burrow has shown himself to be the ONLY quarterback in the NFL who can duel with Mahomes on a consistent basis.

2023 wasn’t a fun year for Bengals fans. We watched Burrow get hobbled in the offseason with a calf strain in training camp. He obviously wasn’t close to healthy early in the season, and just when it seemed he was back to his old self, the wrist injury happened. Jake Browning strung together a few great games, but in the end, a Burrow-less Bengals team wasn’t enough to get into the playoffs.

So now what?

Now the 2023 season is officially over, here are some important dates to keep in mind:

• February 20: Starting at 4 PM ET, teams can designate players for the franchise or transition tag.
• February 27 – March 4: NFL Combine at Indianapolis
• March 5: Deadline to designate Franchise or Transition tags at 4 PM ET
• March 11-13: Starting at 12 PM ET on March 11, and ending at 4 PM ET on March 13, teams are allowed to contact and enter into contract negotiations with certified agents of players who will become free agents after the 2023 season.
• March 13: At 4 PM ET, the new league year officially begins. Free agency begins and teams can begin trading players.
• March 24-27: Annual league meetings in Orlando.
• April 1: Teams that hired a new head coach begin offseason workout programs.
• April 15: Teams with returning head coaches can begin offseason workout programs.
• April 17: Deadline for teams to time, test, visit, interview and conduct physicals for draft-eligible players at a team facility.
• April 19: Deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets
• April 24: Deadline for teams to exercise Right of First Refusal on restricted free agents who signed offer sheets. Also, deadline to test, visit, interview, or conduct a physical on any draft-eligible player at any location.
• April 25-27: NFL Draft in Detroit.
• May 2: Deadline for teams to exercise fifth-year option on players from the 2021 NFL Draft.
• May 3-6/May 10-13: Three-day rookie minicamp.
• May 13: Rookie Football Development Programs can start
• May 20-22: Spring League Meetings in Nashville

From that point, it’s minicamp, training camp, preseason, and the whole shebang.

The Bengals will hopefully be big spenders again in free agency, while spending wisely, of course, and use the draft to fill in depth and continue to build for the future.

What free agents are you eyeing for the Bengals? Who would you like to see them target in the draft?

Here are a few other random thoughts on the Super Bowl and other stuff:

• As soon as the Niners kicked a field goal in overtime of the Super Bowl, giving Mahomes basically unlimited time to go down the field and win with a touchdown, I knew the game was over.
• The Niners did everything they could to lose. I’m not taking anything away from the Chiefs, because they deserved to win, but the Niners just couldn’t get out of their own way.
• I was shocked that Travis Kelce basically body-checked his head coach. I know the guy is passionate, and I know he wants to win, but you can’t make physical contact with your head coach in anger. I know the two have a good relationship, but I would also think they’re going to have an uncomfortable discussion about what happened behind closed doors soon if they haven’t already.
• The commercials were okay. They’re never going to be as good as they used to be. Now they release commercials like a week before they air on the Super Bowl broadcast online, so you’re not really surprised by any of them. They were good. Not great.
• The Niners were able to hold Kelce to one catch in the first half, but he finished the game with nine catches for 93 yards, leading all Chiefs receivers.
• The different game plans were apparent. The Chiefs leaned on Mahomes to move the ball, and while Pacheco had 18 carries, Mahomes out-rushed him by 7 yards on nine fewer carries. The Niners leaned on the running game and only asked Brock Purdy to manage the game and not screw things up. Unfortunately, when Playing against Mahomes, you have to fight fire with fire. Just trying to keep him off the field doesn’t work.
• Chris Jones is about as explosive as you can get from the defensive tackle position. What an addition he’d make to the Bengals’ defensive front.
• The Bengals really like drafting players to replace free agents they know they won’t re-sign. Think Dax Hill for Jessie Bates IV or DJ Turner for Chidobe Awuzie. Is it possible the Bengals look to free agency or the draft for another safety and move Dax to play behind Hilton in the slot? I could see it.
• Had the 49ers held on to win, who would have been the Super Bowl MVP? My vote would likely have been for CMC.
• Had the Lions held on to beat the Niners in the NFC Championship game, who would have won the Super Bowl? I’d have a hard time betting against Mahomes, but I would have been rooting for the Lions like crazy. I wasn’t really rooting for anything other than seeing a good game, which it was.
• Who were you rooting for?

It’s time to sit back and relax for a week or so.

Who Dey!