Patrick Mahomes’ record-setting start has made him look like a Madden cheat code

In the box score, it went down as a 4-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes II to Chris Conley. On tape, it looked like someone taunting their little brother in a game of Madden.

Mahomes continued his superhuman assault on the league Sunday, turning what looked like a sure sack into six second-quarter points for the Chiefs. San Francisco’s third-and-goal pressure sent Mahomes scrambling for his life, taking him out of the pocket and all the way back to the 49ers’ 25-yard line. Then he turned the corner, left a handful of linemen in his wake, and delivered an absolute laser to Conley at the back of the end zone.

One drive later, he’d find Demetrius Harris with a 13-yard pass to bring his season total up to 12 touchdowns, tying Peyton Manning’s NFL record for most TDs thrown through three weeks of the season. When he got the ball back after a Niners’ punt, a 12-yard strike to Sammy Watkins gave him the record all to himself.

That’s a number that would be impressive for anyone. The Chiefs got it from a player making the second, third, and fourth starts of his NFL career.

Mahomes had plenty of questions to answer when Kansas City shipped incumbent starter Alex Smith to Washington and anointed the 2017 first-round pick the leader of its offense. The Texas Tech alum was always going to have a soft landing spot in the league thanks to an offense stacked with skill players. Through 3 games, he’s put them to good use.

Mahomes didn’t score another touchdown after halftime, but the Chiefs didn’t need him to. The 49ers were too far behind to catch up with Kansas City after an explosive first half.

After a 109-yard game against Pittsburgh in Week 2, it only took All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce 30 minutes to rack up 79 yards against San Francisco. Deep threat Tyreek Hill is averaging more than 22 yards per catch (and 17 yards per target). Kareem Hunt has suffered through a bit of a sophomore slump, but still found the end zone twice in the first quarter against the 49ers.

But Mahomes has also proven he can spread the love. He’s hit nine different Chiefs over the course of his 13 touchdowns; Kelce, Hill, Hunt, Conley, Watkins, Harris, DeMarcus Robinson, Anthony Sherman, and De’Anthony Thomas — the NFL record is 13 different players that was set by Matt Ryan in 2016. Mahomes already has nine through three weeks. Those players are thriving thanks to a quarterback who isn’t afraid to take big risks downfield. And Mahomes can take risks like that because he can turn a situation like this into a frozen-rope laser to the back of the end zone:

As good as Alex Smith was in Kansas City, he wasn’t the kind of big-play machine Mahomes has been through three weeks of 2018. And that isn’t just making the Chiefs one of the league’s top clubs — it’s also making them appointment viewing every Sunday. Especially when Mahomes can make even an Xs and Os breakdown of his touchdowns look exciting.