If at first you don’t succeed, try again.
That apparently is Ray Lewis’ mindset when it comes to picking games involving the New England Patriots. The Hall of Fame linebacker believed the Los Angeles Chargers would eliminate the Patriots in the divisional round, only to see New England advance to its eighth straight AFC Championship Game in convincing fashion.
Well, Lewis is sounding the horn again ahead of Sunday’s matchup at Arrowhead Stadium. While some might believe having a young quarterback could be a detriment to the Chiefs on this stage, Lewis believes Kansas City’s signal-caller will be the X-factor against New England.
“I am taking the Kansas City Chiefs for this reason: I think there’s a young lion that’s sitting in Kansas City right now named Pat Mahomes and he’s heard this Tom Brady story too many times,” Lewis said Tuesday on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL.”
Mahomes isn’t just having a sensational season for a first-year quarterback, he’s putting together one of the best campaigns for any player at the position ever. After throwing 50 touchdown passes to just 12 interceptions in the regular season, Mahomes helped guide the Chiefs to a three-score win over the Indianapolis Colts in the divisional round.
But something will have to give Sunday against the Patriots, who notoriously have given inexperienced QBs nightmares throughout the Bill Belichick era. Mahomes managed to light it up against New England in Week 6 despite an ugly first half, but he still was unable to secure a win at Gillette Stadium.
The 23-year-old will have the luxury of home-field advantage this time around. But given the Patriots’ postseason track record and recharged defense, Mahomes will have his work cut out for him as he tries to help book his team a trip to Super Bowl LIII.
