NFL analyst reveals Justin Watson’s hidden impact on Patrick Mahomes’ big run
Much has been made about Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ statistics being down this season, but he is leading the NFL in two key categories.
Mahomes has a league-best three fourth-quarter comebacks and he’s first in the NFL with five game-winning drives.
One of those game-winning drives came Sunday as the Chiefs’ beat the Panthers 30-27 in Charlotte. After Carolina tied the game with 1 minute, 46 seconds to play, Mahomes drove the Chiefs 57 yards in seven plays and KC won the game on Spencer Shrader’s field goal as time expired.
The biggest play on the final drive was Mahomes’ epic 33-yard run that got the Chiefs in field-goal range.
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky, the former NFL quarterback, highlighted the effort of Chiefs receiver Justin Watson on the run. Watson had just one catch for 15 yards in Sunday’s game, but his hustle helped Mahomes pick up a chunk of extra yardage on the scramble.
Orlovsky wanted to shine a light on the hidden role Watson played on the run.
“Effort matters. Always has, always will,” Orlovsky said in a video he shared on X. “This is Patrick’s scramble. This is Justin Watson. I want you to see the difference of speed that he plays with right in this moment when it becomes scramble drill, OK? There’s multiple Carolina defenders closer to Patrick than he is. ... This is a Justin Watson shoutout love moment, but compare it.
“That’s phenomenal, Watson. Makes the play, that dude makes the play, saves the game, effort, one, two, and then, why is his speed at this moment, why is there a burst from him? That’s awesome, 84.”
This story was originally published November 25, 2024 at 11:49 AM.
