Patrick Mahomes isn’t paying too much attention to what his AFC West rivals are doing — especially in late July.
After video surfaced on Thursday of Raiders rookie safety Trey Taylor mocking the quarterback with a Kermit the Frog doll during training camp, Mahomes gave his rather ambivalent input on the situation.
“It’s still early in the year. Stuff like that happens,” Mahomes quipped on Friday. “It’ll get handled when it gets handled.”
There was little question Taylor and Las Vegas were indeed mocking Mahomes, with the doll dressed in a No. 15 jersey, donning a wig reminiscent of Mahomes’ hair and Taylor mimicking Mahomes’ “I’m here!” slogan.
However, the two-time MVP isn’t exactly using it as any extra fuel.
“They don’t need to send me anything to keep me motivated,” the 28-year-old said when asked if friends or family had shared the clip.
In his prodigious career, Mahomes has gone 10-2 against the Raiders.
Extended over a full season, the quarterback’s numbers against Las Vegas would feature a 66 percent completion rate, 5,062 passing yards, 43 touchdowns and only six interceptions — impressive for even his otherworldly standards.
Things have sometimes looked so easy in Vegas that the Chiefs have even unveiled backyard football-esque formations.
However, Antonio Pierce and the silver and black do hold the most recent bragging rights after downing Mahomes and the Chiefs inside Arrowhead Stadium on Christmas last year.
Still, that win does little to blemish Mahomes’ unreal 30-5 mark against AFC West competition, a division that the Chiefs have won every year since 2015.
While Mahomes has won three Super Bowls since 2018, the rest of the Raiders, Chargers and Broncos have combined for zero playoff victories and just two postseason appearances in that span.
Revved up any further or not, Mahomes and the Chiefs look to make it three Lombardi Trophies in a row in 2024.
The team’s first preseason game is on Aug. 10 against the Jaguars.
