“It’ll Get Handled When It Gets Handled” – Patrick Mahomes Puts The Fear Of God In The Raiders For Kermit The Frog Gag

In case you missed it, the Las Vegas Raiders messed around and thought it'd be fun to pass around a Kermit the Frog Muppet puppet at training camp. This was a clear shot at Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who, reminder: plays the Raiders not once, but twice every single season. Nothing's changing in 2024. https://twitter.com/RGIII/status/1816586570629046383 Losing on Christmas Day at home to the Raiders and throwing a pick-six had to rankle Mahomes. Good thing he proceeded to add to his absurd statistical prowess , rattle off a six-game winning streak from there on, and put up a third Super Bowl in the last half-decade. But no team maybe in the history of the NFL has a bigger target on their back than the Chiefs. They're gunning for the first three-peat ever, and that grind can be exhausting. When adversity inevitably hits, it helps to have just a little extra fuel for the eternal motivational flame. Just as I theorized in my coverage of the Raiders' audacious stunt yesterday, Mahomes took note of the slight and didn't have to say much when he officially responded on Friday. "Stuff like that happens. it'll get handled when it gets handled. [...] Everybody kinda just lets me play. I mean, they know how I am, so they don't need to send me anything to keep me motivated." https://twitter.com/lexiosborne/status/1816867384470143371 Lots of subtext. I'll take any and all of it I can get when it comes to the NFL, because man, it's been a long time since we've been this close to a new season getting underway. Mahomes didn't need to be tipped off by a teammate to be aware of this Kermit dig. Whether they did or not, he was going to see it regardless. That's the nature of America's chronically online existence these days. It's sad that the Chiefs don't face the Raiders until Weeks 8 and 13. I'd like to see this spat resolved in shorter order. However, I'd be shaking in my boots if I was Vegas. Follow me on this thought train for a second. I believe I have this right: Andy Reid is 27-5 coming off a bye in his coaching career. One of those losses actually came last year at the hands of his ex-team, the Philadelphia Eagles. Just a hunch, given that track record: Big Red ain't losing off a bye in 2024. Kansas City's idle time just so happens to be Week 6, which precedes a Super Bowl rematch in San Francisco with the 49ers. If you have that big of a game on deck, it'd be easy to have something of a letdown the next week. Reid's history overwhelmingly suggests the Chiefs will take the Niners' best shot but prevail once again. Then they face the Raiders. In Vegas. To not only avenge that Christmas Day loss, but to make them look silly when Mahomes blows them out of the water to improve to 11-2 against the Silver and Black for his career. So to recap: The Raiders really did this cutesy Kermit thing in spite of — nay, in blissful ignorance of — the fact that Reid wins at an 84% clip off byes, and Mahomes beats them at an 83% clip in their head-to-head matchups. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ru8DMW-grY