Patrick Mahomes’ final scramble was supposed to be a pass to this Chiefs teammate
With the game on the line — and Taylor Swift in the stands — the Kansas City Chiefs tried to get the ball to Travis Kelce.
Coach Andy Reid confirmed that during a press conference with reporters Monday, saying quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ game-clinching 9-yard scramble on third-and-8 in the fourth quarter of the Chiefs’ 23-20 victory was supposed to be a pass to KC’s star tight end.
Replays show why the ball never made it to him. Kelce, feigning a block against Jets defensive end John Franklin-Myers, tried to sneak by the defender before Franklin-Myers took his right hand and yanked Kelce to the ground.
“Yeah, that impacted (the play). It was gonna be a screen to him. The defensive end, though, shook him out like a wet rag,” Reid said Monday with a smile. “That didn’t work, but it also gave Pat an opportunity to run.”
Though defensive holding behind the line of scrimmage can oftentimes be an officiating gray area, the 2023 NFL rulebook states that a defensive player “may use his hands, arms, or body to push, pull, or ward off offensive players ... when an opponent is obviously attempting to block him.” Kelce started the play by engaging with Franklin-Myers.
Look closely, though, and you’ll see Mahomes decided to run even before Kelce was tossed down. The defensive look might have led him in that direction, as the Jets flooded their attention to the right side where Kelce was lined up.
With the Jets playing man coverage to the left, Mahomes had lots of room to run, gaining 9 yards before sliding down ahead of the end zone to set up the game’s final kneel-downs.
“We had something else called, but it was a good job by him,” Reid said of Mahomes after Sunday’s game. “You could see how competitive he is. He knew he was off a tick that first half, got back on it, and did a nice job the second half.”
