Patrick Mahomes Had Another Great Finger-Counting Message for His Doubters

Count ’em

Every game Patrick Mahomes plays makes his pre-NFL football career more unbelievable. How did this guy receive scholarship offers from only Texas Tech, Houston and Rice? How did he not win more awards in college? How did he slip to 10th in the draft?

He isn’t afraid to let people know that he remembers the slights against him, either. When Mahomes and the Chiefs blew out Mitch Trubisky’s Bears in prime time on Sunday Night Football last season, Mahomes celebrated a touchdown pass by counting to 10 on his fingers, a reference to Chicago picking Trubisky at No. 2 instead of him. 

After a touchdown in Monday night’s win over the Ravens, Mahomes did something very similar. 

So what does the number four symbolize here? This summer, Mahomes came in fourth on the NFL’s annual “NFL Top 100” list, which is voted on by the players. Lamar Jackson was first. As Jackson turned in the worst passing performance of his young career, Mahomes lit up the Baltimore defense for 385 passing yards and four touchdowns, plus another score on the ground. The celebration was basically Mahomes's saying, “Is this your king?”

It’s tough to take issue with the “NFL Top 100” rankings. After throwing 50 touchdowns in his first season as a starter, Mahomes had a more mortal 26 in 2019. Jackson, meanwhile, led the league with 36 touchdown passes and broke the quarterback rushing record with 1,206 yards. (Russell Wilson was No. 2, and Aaron Donald was No. 3.)

Mahomes can’t be too upset with being named one of the four best players in the league, especially behind three guys as talented as those, but it’s fun to see a quarterback show a little attitude like that. And the last thing the rest of the NFL needs is Mahomes's playing with extra motivation. 

Are you ready for a whole lot of baseball? 

It seems weird to have it after so few games have been played, but Tuesday is the beginning of the biggest baseball feast of the year. Usually we have to wait a couple of days for the ALDS and NLDS to overlap before we get a day of round-the-clock games, but with the new playoff this year, we’re jumping right in with wall-to-wall action. It should be fun. 

Here’s the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 2 p.m.: Astros at Twins (ABC)
• 3 p.m.: White Sox at A’s (ESPN)
• 5 p.m.: Blue Jays at Rays (TBS)
• 7 p.m.: Yankees at Indians (ESPN)

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I’ll take that as a yes

Being able to send a letter like this is every lawyer’s dream

A good song

Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.