Chiefs TE Travis Kelce reveals thoughts on the behind-the-back pass: ‘I screwed this one up’

The tale of Patrick Mahomes’ behind-the-back pass during the Kansas City Chiefs’ second preseason game has had several versions. We’ve heard Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid’s story, leaving only Travis Kelce to officially give his take on the moment.

Travis joined his brother on the latest episode of the New Heights podcast to give his version of the moment that shocked the football world.

“Yeah, man, I motioned over, and I’m looking at Pat while I’m motioning over, like, What did you say? Here’s the thing: when you’re in preseason, you don’t get a week to prepare for the game plan,” said Kelce. “Yeah, basically, I wasn’t in tune with the game plan. And Pat Mahomes had something in the back of his head when I walked across the line of scrimmages, like, would you say that I didn’t know what I was doing, so he was gonna have to make something shake. And that’s why we love playing with Pat Mahomes, ladies and gentlemen because even when you f***, he makes things right.”

Mahomes completed the unbelievable pass to Kelce, who was ready for various options on the play.

“There are options in Andy Reid’s offense, and it’s because of a guy like Pat Mahomes that you can run these different options,” said Kelce. “You see, just a little point to him right there, like we’re on the same page. I had no idea. I felt Pat pull the football and start to roll out, and I was just gonna start running that way and like, oh, he might need my help in blocking. He might need my help to be available. So when I turned around, he was in the mid, behind-the-back pass, like a sports card. It was just slow motion, and the ball was floating to me. Sure enough, I knew it was third and short, so I just made sure that I got the sticks there.”

Mahomes initially blamed Kelce for running the wrong route after the game, but according to Reid, that wasn’t the case. Kelce set the record straight and blamed himself for the moment.

“Like i said, I screwed this one up; I did not look at Coach Reid.” Said Kelce. “Instinctually being able to do this is insane. To have the cojones to be able to throw something behind your back in traffic like that is insane. And Patty (Mahomes), he made a great point. He’s not going to do it, just to do it. He’s only going to do it when he needs to do it; sure enough, it was a perfect situation for him. Sometimes it just takes somebody to f*** it up.”

Regardless of how the play happened, it will always be rewatchable for years and part of NFL highlight reels.