Long TD pass from Mahomes to Mecole Hardman illustrates a bigger picture for Chiefs
The initial two game plans designed to slow the Chiefs offense effectively stripped away Patrick Mahomes’ downfield options. And yet they still allowed him to throw five touchdowns in eight quarters. But, well, you have to try to take away something.
The next dared Mahomes go for a deep route — so long as he made a quick enough decision to beat the blitz. And so long as his offensive line allotted him enough time to throw it.
OK, then. How’s this?
On a third-and-14 play in the second quarter Monday, Mahomes fired a pass that traveled 58.1 yards in the air before settling into Mecole Hardman’s arms for a back-breaking touchdown in the Chiefs’ 34-20 win in Baltimore.
“We had drawn it up especially for that team,” Mahomes said.
One big play illustrates a larger story.
First of all, just three weeks into 2020, the Chiefs have demonstrated a path toward beating defenses that play them in polar opposite manners. What can you try against this offense?
And second of all, the Chiefs’ preparation includes installing plays for defensive looks they haven’t seen in their own games ... or haven’t even seen their opponent run all season. This isn’t entirely atypical, but the manner in which the play originated offers a peek behind the curtain of the team’s planning.
Early last week, after two games against teams who preferred to sit back in cover-2 defenses, the Chiefs coaches pored through film of a Ravens team that preferred much the opposite — a team whose scheme rested on blitzing and aggression. As they watched movements and tendencies in the Ravens’ secondary, it prompted an idea from quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Mike Kakfa.
So they installed a route — a double move from Hardman that had him finishing with a dead sprint to the end zone — that had yet to spring open in the initial two weeks.
“We got the look we wanted,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I think it was a long pitch and catch, but it ended up being a nice throw and grab.”
The essence of the play, as outlined by ESPN analyst Ryan Clark, isolated Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters and exposed his desire to jump a short route. The familiarity with Peters certainly didn’t hurt.
When Hardman made his first move, Peters bit. By the time Hardman made his second, it was too late for a reaction. Peters’ eyes were locked on the underneath route.
They had him.
But it would require another adjustment from Mahomes. He recognized the blitz before the snap, but he didn’t know exactly where it would come from, part of a package the Ravens installed specifically for this game.
“I think it was one of those looks where they did that package of blitz that I wasn’t expecting. There was a guy free. Right off the snap, I knew that the guy was going to be able to come free,” Mahomes said. “I knew we had the coverage over the top that we liked. Instead of maybe having to check it down or throw it (quickly), I wanted to buy time to let Mecole run his route and put the ball out there. Once I saw him make the first move of the double move, I knew that with his speed, he could run underneath it. So I tried to put it out there as far as I could.”
To buy time, Mahomes hurried backward in his drop — 12 yards by the time he planted his foot and threw. That provided an extra tick before the blitz arrived, and it gave him enough leverage to throw the ball 58.1 yards, the second longest air distance traveled in a completion this season, per Next Gen Stats provided by Zebra Technologies.
Even if it wasn’t the tightest of spirals.
“As we call it, it was probably a little bit of a toaster because it wasn’t a very good spiral,” Mahomes said. “But it got out there enough where he was able to catch it and score.”
This story was originally published September 30, 2020 at 4:08 PM.