Patrick Mahomes-Jared Goff matchup is NFL at its best

Further proof that getting it right at quarterback almost always leads to good things in the NFL: Monday night’s Chiefs-Rams matchup, in which Kansas City’s rising star, Patrick Mahomes, goes against the Rams’ Jared Goff in a game that could be a preview of Super Bowl LIII.

This game features two quarterbacks who were first-round picks, two exceptional passing arms and two vibrant offenses powering two 9-1 teams that have been brilliant.

This is as good as it gets in a league that not long ago seemed on the verge of running out of great quarterback rivalries. But with Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers and Eli Manning in their twilight years, Goff and Mahomes are at the heart of a quarterback renaissance among younger passers.

The Jets can only hope Sam Darnold joins that group someday, and the Giants soon will be looking for a replacement for the 37-year-old Manning. In the meantime, fans of the Jets and Giants can get a glimpse of what their futures might be like as the Rams and Chiefs battle to stay atop their respective conferences with the stretch run to the playoffs looming.

Mahomes and Goff are playing extraordinarily well and are 1-2 in passing yards, with Mahomes (3,150) slightly ahead of Goff (3,134). Mahomes leads the NFL with a whopping 31 touchdown passes and Goff is fourth with 22. Goff is six touchdown passes behind his entire total from 2017 and Mahomes leads the league in his first season as a starter. He has flourished after sitting behind Alex Smith in 2017.

The quarterbacks are a testament not just to their own athletic abilities but to the outstanding coaching of Sean McVay of the Rams and Andy Reid of the Chiefs. McVay, 32, is 28 years younger than Reid, but the age gap means nothing in terms of how these two coaches approach the game.

Both are exceptional offensive tacticians. McVay has found ways to bring out Goff’s skills after the Rams — under former coach Jeff Fisher — floundered in Goff’s first two seasons. Reid is enjoying a spectacular run with Mahomes, whose powerful arm allows Reid to flex his own coaching muscle by using the full range of his playbook.

Reid was criticized during much of Smith’s tenure with the Chiefs and often was considered too conservative to keep up in today’s NFL.  But the coach’s work with Mahomes suggests it was Smith holding the coach back, not the other way around.

Reid and McVay form a mutual admiration society when it comes to assessing each another’s acumen.

“He’s done a phenomenal job,” Reid said of McVay. “He came up through a good system. He’s put his own flair to it. He’s a smart kid. I am proud of him for the job he’s done.”

McVay paid Reid the highest compliment of all this past week.

“With the ability to easily access [game tape] week in and week out, it’d be silly for us not to be able to look and see what the heck they’re doing,” McVay told reporters. “Every single week, they do something and you say, ‘That’s pretty good. Guys are making great plays.’ I’d be lying if I said we haven’t stolen some of their stuff this year.”

Both quarterbacks have benefited from exceptional skill players, with running back Kareem Hunt, wide receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce powering Kansas City’s offense and running back Todd Gurley and wide receivers Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods leading the Rams.

If you’re into great offense, this matchup is for you.  Never have two teams averaging at least 33 points per game met this late in the regular season, and it’s only the fifth time since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger that two teams with one or fewer losses have met in Week 11 or later.

Monday’s game originally was scheduled to be played at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium, but poor field conditions prompted the NFL to move the game to Los Angeles. The Rams previously traveled to Colorado Springs to practice at altitude and decided to remain there, in part because wildfires continued to burn near the team’s training facility in Thousand Oaks, California.

“We’re certainly not going to complain about getting the chance to play at the [Los Angeles] Coliseum in front of a great atmosphere,” McVay said.

A great atmosphere for what should be a great matchup between two great young quarterbacks and a pair of exceptional coaches. In other words, the NFL at its best.

And who knows? Maybe we’ll see a rematch in Atlanta in February.

By Bob Glauber

Special to NewsdayBobGlauber

Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”