PATRICK MAHOMES IS THE SIMPLE, UNDENIABLE REASON WHY CHIEFS CAN THREE-PEAT

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Even the Kansas City Chiefs’ fans seemed bored watching an infamous 10-10-10 practice. Over about 90 minutes, Andy Reid installed 30 plays, with 10 each for offense, defense and special teams.

It was Day 12 of training camp. The early camp adrenaline was long gone. And it was a scorcher, a wet heat that’s unique to the Missouri farmlands.

Yet Patrick Mahomes looked like he was having the time of his life.

That’s when it occurred to me: Maybe we’ve been overdoing the comparisons between Tom Brady and Mahomes. Maybe we’re missing the mark comparing the New England Patriots and the Chiefs.

The more I watched Reid, Mahomes and the Chiefs at work, the more I came to realize just how different they are than the Bill Belichick-Brady Patriots. There’s no denying that Kansas City is a dynasty, like New England was. There’s no denying that the Chiefs are the favorite to win the Super Bowl and are, therefore, in the mix to become the first team to ever win back-to-back-to-back championships. And yes, Mahomes is The Reason why, just like Brady was for the Patriots.

But Mahomes couldn’t be more different than Brady, even if they’ll always draw comparisons to each other.

Brady was a control freak hell-bent on repetition, intensity and seriousness. His reliance on structure led to his consistency and his greatness. He was the perfect quarterback for Belichick.

Mahomes is a living reminder that football players play, that this is all a game. It’s not just a game, of course, but Mahomes plays with joy and creativity that helps him achieve his unique greatness. He’s the perfect quarterback for Reid, who knows how to rock a Hawaiian shirt better than anyone.

The more you watch Mahomes, the goofier he gets. And Reid embraces that goofy side, building the team’s identity around Mahomes’ personality — not just his skill set.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Reid said Monday. “Because he wants new stuff [in the playbook]. And so with that, you can build it around his personality.”

What’s most remarkable is that Mahomes’ silliness doesn’t take the edge off his competitive spirit. The Las Vegas Raiders recently mocked Mahomes’ goofiness. Raiders rookie safety Trey Taylor used a Kermit the Frog puppet to riff off how Mahomes sounds like the iconic muppet when he speaks.

And that level of goofiness triggered the QB’s killer instinct.

“It’ll get handled when it gets handled,” Mahomes told reporters.

It was cold. It was a don’t-poke-the-bear moment.