When Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes lines up opposite the Ravens defense on Monday Night Football, he'll see a lot of different faces than the ones that looked back at him the last two times he faced Baltimore.
Among the defensive additions are defensive ends Calais Campbell and Derek Wolfe, as well as cornerback Marcus Peters and inside linebackers Patrick Queen, L.J. Fort and Malik Harrison.
But there will be two other "new" faces who are still quite familiar to Mahomes.
Ravens safety DeShon Elliott and outside linebacker Tyus Bowser have connections with Mahomes that will add another layer of fun to the MNF matchup.
Bowser, who leads the Ravens with two sacks in two games, grew up competing against Mahomes in high school. Bowser went to John Tyler High School in Tyler, Texas and Mahomes went to Whitehouse High School less than 20 minutes away. The two went head-to-head often in football and basketball.
"Just consistent battles, just going at each other all the time," Bowser recalled. "He's definitely a good basketball player."
Bowser went on to play at the University of Houston while Mahomes went to Texas Tech and both were drafted in 2017 – Mahomes in the first round and Bowser in the second.
They faced each other before in the NFL in 2018 and 2019, but Bowser played just 14 and 13 defensive snaps, respectively, in those games. Through the first two games this season, Bowser has played about half of the team's defensive snaps (39 and 32). He's a much bigger part of the Ravens' defense this year.
Elliott is also a major part of the Ravens defense now as a first-year starter. He and Mahomes trained together this offseason in Texas. Elliott also grew up in Texas, although much closer to Dallas, and also stayed there to play college football at the University of Texas.
When Mahomes became the NFL's highest-paid player this offseason, it was Elliott who teased him about not showing up for a workout that morning.
