Mahomes, the colossus of week 4

It took only four weeks for the first repeat Colossus of the Week of the current NFL regular season to arrive.

Although it was a day clearly dominated by running backs, it was a quarterback who, for the fourth day in a row, took the place of honor in our weekly listing.

Below, as always, the Honorable Mentions for the day, in alphabetical order.

Patrick Mahomes, quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs
There is no doubt that Mahomes had this date circled on his calendar. It was a visit to the same venue, and against the same opponent, where less than two years ago he lost a Super Bowl.

Mahomes shined with a performance that his stats fail to portray perfectly.

Sure, no one is going to look down on a 23 completions out of 37 attempts for 249 yards with three touchdowns, against an interception that, in the end, didn’t weigh much.

However, it was how Mahomes achieved those numbers that separated him from the rest of the individual stellar performers on the day.

Take the first right-hander of the game as an example. The Buccaneers opened the night with a loose ball on the opening kickoff, and Mahomes quickly made them pay with a touchdown pass on the second play, finding his most reliable partner, Travis Kelce.

More than just finding an early lead, it was a way to dictate what the entire game would be, with the Chiefs marching to their own beat and the Buccaneers suffering to not fall behind, which happened often.

Then there was the magic displayed on his third touchdown pass of the night, when he escaped the pocket to roll to the right before shedding a defender with a spin move and heading into the end zone for what looked like it was going to be a touchdown through the legs. At the last instant, Mahomes leaped to throw the ball in a contorted fashion to running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, putting a gaping hole in the confidence of the Tampa Bay defense.

That Mahomes — the one who thinks he can do it all and usually gets it all done — is the toughest player in the league to defend. Beyond his good performances in general, including the one in Week 1 when he had already been named Colossus of the Week, it had been a while since we had seen him on fire like he was today.

For the rest of the league, this is bad news.

Honorable mentions
Tom Brady, quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We know Brady well enough to believe that, even when Tampa Bay appeared to be overwhelmed from the opening moments of Sunday night’s game, he would ever put his arms down. The Bucs quarterback withstood constant punishment from the Chiefs and his own frustrations to throw 39 completions on 52 pass attempts for three touchdowns with no interceptions. He accomplished all of that without help on the ground after the Bucs ran the ball just six times as a team for 3 yards.

Nick Chubb, running back, Cleveland Browns. Week to week, Chubb delivers individual performances, and week to week he seems to get ignored in the conversation of the most explosive offensive players in the league. In Week 4, he notched 19 carries for 118 yards with one touchdown, and two catches through the air. Without him, Cleveland would be a bigger mess than it currently is.

Austin Ekeler, running back, Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers’ star running back had been quiet during the season opener, but exploded today with a 13-carry, 60-yard, two-touchdown performance to go along with his six receptions for 49 yards with a third touchdown Sunday. The Chargers are still not showing the form expected of them, but at least Ekeler has woken up.

Mike Evans, wide receiver, Buccaneers. With 103 yards on eight receptions, two of them for touchdowns, Evans put up a valiant effort of resistance against the Chiefs’ invasion of Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium tonight. The massive wide receiver remained the best thing about the Bucs offense that always played from a heavy deficit.

Jared Goff, quarterback, Detroit Lions. Four touchdown passes against one interception–although it was returned for a touchdown–is enough to place you among our most notable individual players. Goff racked up 378 yards through the air, and was only caught once, leading Detroit to victory on a day when the Lions were without their top three offensive weapons,

Derrick Henry, running back, Tennessee Titans. Henry shouldered the Titans to victory.What else is new? The Tennessee star ran the ball 22 times for 114 yards with a touchdown, plus three catches in the air, to lead his team to a critical divisional victory on Sunday.

T.J. Hockenson, tight end, Lions. I don’t know if many were expecting an offensive shootout between Detroit and Seattle, but it happened, and Hockenson was one of the key figures. The tight end hauled in eight receptions for 179 yards with two touchdowns, keeping the Lions from missing Amon-Ra St. Louis too much.

Josh Jacobs, running back for the Las Vegas Raiders. Finally, the Raiders ventured to put the game on Jacobs’ shoulders, and the Las Vegas running back responded with a personal-best 144 yards on 28 carries, including two touchdowns. In addition, Jacobs did his part in the aerial game, with five receptions for 31 yards in the Raiders’ first win so far this season.

Lamarcus Joyner, safety, New York Jets. The Steelers threw a rookie quarterback on the field, and Joyner quickly made him pay for the inexperience with two interceptions out of three thrown by Kenny Pickett. Both came in the fourth period, with Pittsburgh hoping to mount a comeback. The first stopped a 36-yard Jets drive with 3 1/2 minutes to play, and the second set the Jets’ buzzer beater to music, killing the last prayer attempt as regular time expired.

Rashaad Penny, running back, Seattle Seahawks. In the shootout between the Lions and Seahawks, Seattle also took advantage of sluggish defenses on Sunday. Penny, for example, had 17 carries for 151 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, one of 36 yards and one of 41 yards, both in the second half, to keep the Seahawks hopeful until the end.

Dameon Pierce, running back, Houston Texans. If you didn’t know Pierce’s name yet, it’s time to practice it. Houston’s rookie running back carried the ball 14 times for 131 yards with a touchdown in an effort that, unfortunately, wasn’t enough for the Texans for the win.

Jordan Poyer, safety, Buffalo Bills. The Ravens were shut down offensively during the second half, and Poyer’s two interceptions played a big role in that. First, he opened the final quarter by intercepting Lamar Jackson at midfield to end an offense that promised at least a field goal. Then, with just over 4 minutes to play, he intercepted his second pass of the day, in the diagonal zone, on a desperation fourth-down pass that would have given Baltimore the lead back. After Poyer’s second interception, Buffalo marched down the field to secure the score with a field goal.

Miles Sanders, running back, Philadelphia Eagles. Philadelphia remained the NFL’s only undefeated team on Sunday, and owes it in large part to Sanders. The Eagles running back carried the ball 27 times for 134 yards with two touchdowns, and added an additional 22 yards on two receptions. The Eagles continue to be a power on the ground, as they were last year, and that is the backbone of their current success.

Jamaal Williams, running back, Lions. As of last week, Williams was on the radar for this weekly list. Now, he managed to hold his own with a 19-carry outing for 108 yards with two touchdowns on the ground, crediting 48 points scored on the day for Detroit. Now, it will be interesting to see the distribution of carries for the Lions when D’Andre Swift returns from injury.