Why DeAndre Hopkins puts Chiefs’ fate back in Patrick Mahomes’ hands

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The instinct and trust between Patrick Mahomes and new Chiefs receiver DeAndre Hopkins was already on display in Monday night's 30-24 overtime win against the Bucs .

Just 11 days after Kansas City sent a conditional fifth-round pick to the Titans for the 32-year-old as an answer to a slew of injuries, the Chiefs saw a promising connection that led to two touchdowns that helped keep them undefeated on the season.

"Those two, you talk about being on the same page, they were on the same page," coach Andy Reid said after Hopkins' eight catches for 86 yards.

ADVERTISEMENT Twice, Mahomes found Hopkins matched up against second-year Bucs corner Josh Hayes , a special-teams player pressed into every-down duty by multiple injuries at the position. The first gave the Chiefs a 10-7 lead in the second quarter, and the second gave them the lead with less than five minutes left.

"He's so good at winning 1-on-1," Mahomes said after the game. "To be able to have him down in the red zone, third-down situations, he does a good job of filling out and finding those windows, kind of like Travis [Kelce] does. I think as he figures out the whole entire offense, he'll get even better. ... You give him a chance down the field, and he makes a play and goes from a play where it might have been a bad decision to a big-time catch."

Hopkins' first touchdown was set up by just such a throw. In the second quarter, Mahomes was flushed up in the pocket and looked upfield to see Hopkins down the middle but well-covered. He threw the pass despite three Bucs defenders converging, but Hopkins came down with the ball for a 35-yard gain.

Hopkins credits his quick rapport with Mahomes to the time they've spent together in less than two weeks as teammates.

"Communication, talking throughout practice, talking in the locker room, just communicating every day about the looks that we see and me just picking his brain, asking him what he likes," Hopkins said. "When I'm not out there taking the rep, I'm always learning and seeing how he does things."

Hopkins has been exactly what the Chiefs needed, winning every week despite a parade of injuries at receiver. Marquise Brown was lost to a season-ending shoulder injury before the season started, Rashee Rice needed season-ending knee surgery after the fourth game, Skyy Moore went on injured reserve with a core muscle injury and one veteran replacement, JuJu Smith-Schuster , has also been sidelined with a hamstring injury.

The Chiefs are what Hopkins needs late in his prolific career. He has 81 career touchdowns, but just two career playoff wins over 10 years in Houston, Arizona and Tennessee. Two of his four playoff losses have come at the hands of the Chiefs and Mahomes. In the 2019 playoffs, Hopkins helped the Texans to a 24-0 lead, only to see Kansas City roar back to win 51-31.

Monday night was a nostalgic turn back to when the Chiefs leaned hard on Mahomes and their offense, as so much of their success this season as the NFL's last unbeaten team has come from the defensive side. Kansas City has won 14 straight games going back to last season, and the most amazing part is that over the first 13 games, they never scored more than 28 points, the only such win streak that long in NFL history.

But on Monday, after Mahomes and Hopkins staked the Chiefs to a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left, the Bucs drove the field against Kansas City's defense, tying the game in the final minute. Tampa opted to kick an extra point to force overtime rather than try to go for two and escape with a win in regulation — and the Bucs never got the ball back. On the first possession of OT, Mahomes marched the Chiefs down the field to win on a Kareem Hunt touchdown.

Hopkins' impact will continue to grow in the coming weeks. In his debut a week earlier, he had just three targets for two catches and 29 yards, but on Monday night, he was productive, with his eight catches coming on nine targets.

"First of all, he's smart, and he has a lot of experience," Reid said. "We put more in for him this week. [Receivers coach] Connor [Embree] does a nice job with those guys of getting them ready to go. DeAndre is a veteran player that's a smart guy, so that's most of it right there."

The bar is set infinitely higher in Kansas City. As the Chiefs seek the NFL's first-ever three-peat and their fourth championship in six years, they're also making a run at history with a potential undefeated season. They're not even halfway to the regular-season part of that yet, but an addition like Hopkins makes everything seem a little more possible.

"A blessing. Grateful to be here," Hopkins said of his first home game with his new team. "I'm still taking it in."

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