Patrick Mahomes completes behind-the-back pass at Chiefs practice: ‘That’s insane’
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes gave opposing defensive coordinators something else to think about during Saturday’s light training camp practice at Missouri Western.
Mahomes, in a team session, executed a play-action fake before flipping a spiral behind his back on a pass attempt. Receiver Skyy Moore caught it a few yards away, turning upfield as Chiefs fans roared in response to the trick-shot throw.
This is the closest Mahomes has come to trying a behind-the-back throw in a game setting. He’s worked on them often at practice when separated in drills with the other quarterbacks, but he’d never attempted one like this with 11 offensive players going against 11 on the defense.
It’s still important to give the context. Coach Andy Reid scheduled one of his team’s shorter “10-10-10” practices Saturday; with those, the first-team offense lines up against the third-string defense, as the team focuses on play execution rather than offense-defense competition.
Mahomes’ pass still buzzed around NFL circles Saturday morning after the Chiefs’ team account posted the video to Twitter. Ninety minutes later, it had already been viewed more than a half-million times on that platform alone.
Chiefs rookie offensive lineman Wanya Morris was blocking for Mahomes on the play, so he said he didn’t see the pass. The completion didn’t surprise him, though, because Morris has watched Mahomes make other improbable passes in practice clips.
“For it to be so accurate behind the back ... like, that’s insane. Let’s be real,” Morris said. “Nobody could do that.”
Chiefs safety Justin Reid also said he missed Mahomes’ throw but wasn’t shocked he attempted it.
“I saw in pregame warmup, he was trying an across-body, left-handed throw,” Reid said with a smile. “So he keeps it fun and tries new things.”
Mahomes played into some of the hype afterward, reposting the Twitter video with an eyes emoji to draw additional attention to it.
So will Chiefs fans see the behind-the-back flip in a 2023 game? It at least seems more possible following Saturday’s test run.
