Patrick Mahomes was moving to his right during the first half of the Kansas City Chiefs’ preseason game against the Detroit Lions on Saturday when he saw that Travis Kelce had run the wrong route.
Despite this, Mahomes decided to throw the ball to Kelce anyway, but he did it with a behind-the-back pass.
This flashy throw was the highlight of an otherwise forgettable game where Mahomes threw for 93 yards in two short series. The Lions ended up winning 24-23 with Jake Bates’ 43-yard field goal as time expired.
“I always told you it had to happen naturally,” Mahomes said, explaining that although he had practiced behind-the-back passes, he had never used one in a game before. “I knew it was on target. It was just low.
But like I said, it wasn’t like — I didn’t do it to look cool. I did it because I was like, pissed off (at Kelce), like why did you run that route like that? And it just worked out.”
Mahomes completed 8 of 14 passes and led the Chiefs to two field goals against the Lions’ backup defense.
He also guided Kansas City to a field goal in his only series in their preseason opener against the Jaguars last week.
But the behind-the-back pass to Kelce, which occurred as Detroit defensive lineman Josh Paschal was closing in, was what stood out.
Kelce caught the pass, which was on third-and-3 at the Detroit 33-yard line, and it helped set up another field goal.
“He does it in practice every day,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I’m alright with it as long as it’s a completion.”
The pass quickly went viral. Kelce’s brother and retired Eagles center Jason Kelce tweeted, “The son of a gun actually did it!” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas also commented, “That was unnecessary, but beautiful!”
Carson Wentz took over for Mahomes and went 5 of 10 for 31 yards, including a touchdown pass to Xavier Worthy. The speedy rookie from Texas had three catches for 62 yards and the touchdown, along with 11 rushing yards.
