On ‘Undisputed,’ Patrick Mahomes responds to Skip Bayless’ criticism of ‘Wasp’ pass
A great meme has popped up recently on social media. It’s a mash-up of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Ryan Howard from “The Office,” who is writing names of people who have wronged him in a notebook.
It’s a clever creation, but one that might be rooted in truth.
For example, Fox Sports’ Skip Bayless said after Super Bowl LIV that Mahomes’ pass on “2-3 Jet Chip Wasp” was a “virtual up-for-grabs punt.”
On Wednesday, Mahomes was a guest on “Undisputed” with Bayless and Shannon Sharpe, and the conversation turned to “Wasp.” Bayless got a dig in while asking Mahomes about the play.
“I thought it was a little bit fortunate the way the ball came down to Tyreek, who had to come back for it,” Bayless said. “Walk us through that play. What happened. When the ball left your hand did you think it was going to be caught? Did you think it was good?”
Mahomes’ answer shows he was aware of Bayless’ biting remark after the Super Bowl.
“Yeah when the ball left my hand, I knew it was going to be caught,” Mahomes said. “Tyreek was wide open on the route. I know you sometimes describe it as a punt sometimes. ...
“I’ll take that punt 100 out of 100 times as long as it hitting for a completion like that.”
Mahomes said the Chiefs had that play ready for the 49ers.
“It was a good play that we had designed for their defense that we had kind of ran versus the Chargers a little bit that plays a similar type of defense, and so I asked coach (Andy) Reid if we could call that play in that situation. He called it,” Mahomes said. “He has trusted me to go out there and call plays like that, and we ran it.
“Tyreek got wide open, Sammy did a good job of holding that corner on the backside, and then all of a sudden, we threw it, got some momentum in our favor and then and then everything started snowballing after that, and we were able to go out there and and find a way to win that game and win the Super Bowl.”
Bayless asked a bit more about the design of the play, and Mahomes said a genesis of the play came in a 2018 preseason game against Atlanta:
“It’s a play, we actually run a play off of this where we have Tyreek run straight down the middle of the field and I usually throw it up there and I think you saw it in the preseason when I threw it to Tyreek versus the Falcons about two years ago where I just chucked it super far,” Mahomes told Bayless.
“So him having that speed he threatens that safety, he runs at him like he’s going to cross his face and he hits the flip, he breaks it to the left side over there. ... Third and 15, you want to give guys a chance and I just tried to buy enough time, the O-line gave me time and I just threw it up to Tyreek and he made a play.”
Bayless continued with his sarcasm, saying he thought Hill called for a fair catch as the ball was coming down.
“No, I don’t think so,” Mahomes responded. “I threw it out there a little bit. I mean Tyreek runs a 4.1 (40-yard dash), so I didn’t want to throw it too far, throw it out of bounds but he made a play on it.”
Later Mahomes explained how Reid will make slight alterations to plays that opponents may have seen on tape.
“I think the biggest thing that you see is when you have coach Reid’s offense, he’s always making a play that he’s used weeks before and then he used it to play that go off of that. And I’m sure (49ers safety) Jimmie Ward saw that play ... and he was trying to open up to get out there, knowing Tyreek, how fast he is.
“But me knowing that the reps that we had had that week that he once he makes that break he’s gonna be wide open in space. I tried to put it out there, give him a chance to make a play and having that guy helps out a lot for some of those 30-yard different routes that he’s running.“
Mahomes also talked about his contract extension, playing until he’s in his 40s, the touchdown run against the Titans in the AFC Championship Game and his work for social justice. Here is the appearance:
This story was originally published August 13, 2020 at 11:50 AM.
