Patrick Mahomes’ latest dazzling football play apparently wasn’t even intentional.
With just over 6 minutes left in the first quarter of Saturday’s preseason contest between the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions , Mahomes faked a handoff and rolled out of the pocket before deploying a behind-the-back pass to tight end Travis Kelce for a first down. Per Next Gen Stats, the unorthodox toss traveled 7.2 yards through the air at 11.27 mph and had a completion probability of 86.8 percent.
While addressing the backyard football move during an in-game interview with NFL Network, Mahomes hilariously admitted that the play was not scripted, but instead came to fruition after Kelce ran the wrong route.
“Long story short, Travis didn’t run the route he was supposed to run, and then it was kind of a behind-the-back pass kind of cuz I was mad,” Mahomes divulged. “I was ------ off at Travis, he was supposed to run a flat route - I don’t know if you can hear me on the broadcast I’m yelling at him - and then he doesn’t run it.
“So out of spite I threw a behind-the-back pass but now it’s gonna be a highlight.”
Asked if he completely improvised the incredible pass, he added: “100%, and that’s what I’ve been trying to say to everybody - it can’t be planned. It’s gotta be just naturally happening kind of in the groove of things. And so, I actually forgot about it until halftime, someone actually brought it up to me.
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“It wasn’t like I planned that at all, or it wasn’t a called play. It just kind of happened.”
Kelce shortly after gave his side of the story, admitting he couldn't understand what play Mahomes was calling at the line of scrimmage.
"You know he's got the voice thing, so he kind of mumbled out the play," Kelce joked. "I couldn't hear it, I was walking up to the line [and] trying to decipher what he was saying. Before I knew it he snapped the ball.
"I kind of saw him out of my peripheral run to the sideline so I was trying to go help my guy out. By the time I looked over there he was already in mid-form like a photo on a sports card throwing the ball to me. So ... I guess right place at the right time."
Regardless, fans online swiftly praised Mahomes for his gridiron theatrics. Few were more impressed by what they saw than Jason Kelce , whose brother Travis reeled in the pass for an eight-yard gain.
“This son of a gun actually did it!! Magic Mahomes,” Jason wrote on X. He later shared a clip of the play, captioning the post: “If you missed it, here it is. Now that it’s been done in the preseason, I got a fever, and I need more cowbell.”
Though Mahomes has yet to try out the behind-the-back pass in a regular-season NFL game, he has experimented with the throw in training camp. During one recent practice, the 28-year-old completed a toss behind his back to running back Isiah Pacheco.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Mahomes expressed interest in employing a behind-the-back pass in a game. "There definitely is a possibility of it,'' he said. "If you do it, it's got to work.''
Perhaps even more surprising, Mahomes later revealed that Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has repeatedly encouraged him to try the risky maneuver. "I'm telling you, he's all for it,'' he said. "It's me that's the one that's hesitant to do it in a game.''
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