Vikings’ blitz-heavy defense meets ultimate challenge: Patrick Mahomes

Can Brian Flores blitz Patrick Mahomes? Or, better yet, should the blitz-bonkers defensive coordinator send extra rushers after one of the NFL's all-time blitz-beating quarterbacks when the Vikings play host to the Chiefs — and perhaps Travis Kelce's new BFF Taylor Swift? — at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday?

The defending champion Chiefs "have answers for pretty much anything someone can do defensively," Flores said. "I think it's important to mix things, but, yeah, pressure? I think you can."

The Vikings (1-3) rank first in blitz rate (61.4%), according to Pro Football Focus, and 31st in completion percentage allowed (76.6). Both could work in favor of Mahomes, an escape artist with a higher career passer rating when he's blitzed (111.7) than when he isn't (100.9).

The two-time league and Super Bowl-winning MVP is 1-2 against Flores from when the latter was defensive play-caller in New England (0-2) and head coach in Miami (1-0). This will be Mahomes' debut as a Vikings opponent in the city where his dad, Pat, was a Twins pitcher when Patrick was born in Tyler, Texas, back on Sept. 17, 1995.

"Last week was his first game against the Jets in New York, where he grew up around the Mets when I was there, and now it's on to Minnesota," said Pat, who will be at Sunday's game with family and friends. "That was one of the craziest and worst games I ever seen him play last week. And he still found a way to help them win."

The Chiefs blew a 17-0 lead as Mahomes threw two interceptions and posted the fifth-worst passer rating (63.6) of his career. But in vintage Mahomes fashion, he still closed out the 23-20 win by running for 25 yards on third-and-23 and 9 yards on third-and-8.

"There's a motto I've been telling him ever since he was a young kid: 'Players make plays,'" Pat said. "He wasn't at his best, but he remembered that motto."

From the archives: Patrick Mahomes' baseball beginnings

The younger Mahomes tends to make a lot of plays against the blitz. He's thrown 76 touchdowns and only 13 interceptions when blitzed.

So, again, can the Vikings blitz Mahomes?

"Yes, because you can't be afraid," said edge rusher Danielle Hunter, who has a team-high five sacks. "You have to keep him contained, but he's going to break free a few times. Tip your hat and move on. If you rush scared, you're done."

The elder Pat Mahomes hit town Thursday praying for a blitz-heavy game plan from Flores.

"If they blitz him, it's going to be a long day for the Minnesota Vikings," Pat said. "They better stay back in their shell coverages and make him take what's underneath because you blitz him, some big, bad things are going to happen to you really, really quick.

"Patrick invites teams to blitz him, but he doesn't expect it that much anymore with all the success he's had against the blitz. He realizes most teams aren't going to let him beat them with one throw too much anymore."

What just happened to me?

It's true that teams appear to be giving up on blitzing Mahomes this season. He's been blitzed only 23 times, which ranks 31st. The Jets blitzed him on only six dropbacks (16.7%). In Week 1, the Lions beat him without an injured Kelce while also blitzing on six dropbacks (13.3%) in Week 1.

Mahomes was blitzed 160 times last season – fifth-most – after being blitzed 112 times in 2021 (26th). His worst game as a pro came the season before that when the Buccaneers held him to a career-low 52.3 passer rating, sacked him three times and grabbed two interceptions while blitzing him only five times in 52 dropbacks (9.6%) in a 31-9 beatdown in Super Bowl LV.

"You can blitz him if you need to, but you just have to know what you're doing," said safety Harrison Smith, who had a career-high three sacks in last week's win at Carolina. "Whether you're blitzing or in coverage, he's so dangerous, so you got to be on your P's and Q's as far as team defense assignments."

Despite optics to the contrary, the Vikings blitzed Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young on only 30.8% of his dropbacks — down from 86.1% against the Chargers' Justin Herbert the week before — according to ESPN Stats & Information.

"We have a lot of different things that look like a blitz but end up with only four rushers," Hunter said.

One of those exotic looks came on Smith's game-clinching sack against the Panthers. He raced in from the blind side on a four-man rush while Hunter dropped into coverage on the front side.

"Was it weird?" Hunter asked. "Nah. Sometimes it plays out that way. Sometimes I have to be the decoy."

Former Vikings coach Brad Childress was Andy Reid's assistant head coach in 2017, the year the Chiefs traded up from 27th to 10th in the first round to select Mahomes, who then sat behind Alex Smith that season.

"Once in a while Andy would peek over at Patrick taking No. 2 reps against our first-team defense early on that year," Childress said. "One day, Andy calls me over and tells me to go watch tape of three plays from that day's practice.

"I got in there and Patrick's throwing his no-look passes. He's looking right at [four-time Pro Bowl linebacker] Justin Houston like he's going to throw it to the flat. Then he throws it right back past Justin's earhole to a guy on a slant. And he doesn't do it just once. Justin is looking at Andy and looking at Patrick and looking where the ball went and going, 'What the … just happened to me?'"

Childress remembers things working because Smith was a willing mentor and Mahomes was a respectful student who asked a ton of questions while also speaking up and opening some eyes to the vision and creativity the football world would come to know very soon.

"We would be watching film and going through how the quarterback should read the play," Childress said. "Andy would go, 'Patrick, what do you think?' He'd say, 'I don't see it that way. I'd read it this way and make this throw.' And we'd be like, 'What?'

"If the guy has any weakness, it's a good weakness. He doesn't believe there's a throw he can't make."

'He's not the one blocking'

Flores' Patriots beat Mahomes 43-40 at home during the 2018 regular season and again 37-31 at Kansas City in that season's AFC Championship game. According to Pro Football Focus, Flores blitzed Mahomes on 43.8% of his dropbacks in the first meeting and 55.6% in the AFC title game.

Mahomes completed 23 of 36 passes (63.9) for 352 yards, four touchdowns, two interceptions and a 110.0 passer rating in the first meeting. He wasn't sacked and ran only twice for 9 yards. His passer rating was 80.5 when blitzed and 128.7 when he wasn't.

In the AFC title game, he completed 16 of 31 passes (51.6) for 295 yards, three touchdowns (all against the blitz), no interceptions and a 117.0 passer rating. He was sacked four times and ran twice for 11 yards. This time, his passer rating was better against the blitz (118.0-91.5).

With the Dolphins, Flores lost to Mahomes 33-27 in 2020. Mahomes went 24 of 34 (70.6%) for 393 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions and a 91.9 rating. He was sacked three times and ran five times for 9 yards. Flores sent more than four rushers only nine times in that game. Two of the sacks and all three interceptions came against four-man rushes.

"[Flores] has a well-coached defense," Mahomes said this week. "They know the scheme, and they do a good job mixing pressure and dropping out of pressure and trying to make it look the same."

Reid, in his 11th season as Chiefs coach, said Flores is one of the league's more creative defensive coaches.

"He brings people from everywhere, also plays regular zone and man coverage," Reid said. "But he does have quite the blitz package."

But can he really use it? Against Mahomes?

"Yeah," Vikings safety Josh Metellus said. "It's a team game. Eleven players. He's not the one blocking."

"I think you have to, really," added safety Cam Bynum. "You don't want to give him all that time to sit back there and just do what he does. So, really, the mindset with him is like any quarterback we've faced so far."

Rookie Ivan Pace Jr. was asked if he personally could get the job done as an undrafted linebacker versus the face of the entire league.

"Yeah, I can blitz Mahomes," he shrugged.

Can you catch him?

"Yes, I can catch him," said the guy who had six sacks as a freshman at Miami of Ohio. "They just have to send me after him, and I'm going to get him.

"With his skillset, you really just got to ball and do what you can."

In other words, forget who he is, don't be awestruck?

"That's how I look at football all the time," Pace said. "I look at football, whether it's college, high school, NFL, anything, it's just another man out there. They put on their pants the same way you put on your pants."

We'll see about that come 3:25 p.m. Sunday.