KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sunday was not the first time Chiefs Kingdom has seen Patrick Mahomes make a game-changing play with his legs.
Heck, it wasn’t even the first time this season Mahomes made headlines as a runner.
It was only five weeks ago that Mahomes ran over San Francisco safety Malik Mustapha at the goal line and authored a career-long 33-yard scramble to help break open Kansas City’s run-away win in a Super Bowl LVIII rematch.
Still, it’s a delight when Mahomes lumbers downfield for a big gain on the ground, which he did on the final drive, matching his season- and career-long 33-yard run to set up the game-winning field goal in a 30-27 victory Sunday at the Carolina Panthers.
“That was a beautiful thing,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.
mahomes 33 yard run📺: #KCvsCAR on CBS/Paramount+📱: atnfl.co/watch[image or embed]
— notNFL (@notnfl.bsky.social) November 24, 2024 at 3:16 PM
Kansas City had blown an 11-point fourth-quarter lead. The Chiefs’ defense was uncharacteristically leaky and penalties upended the offense’s momentum after opening the game five scoring drives in a row.
But when Mahomes got the ball back with 1 minute, 46 seconds remaining in a tie game, everyone who’s paid attention to the NFL during his career knew what was coming.
Starting at their own 30-yard line, Mahomes got the drive rolling with an 8-yard completion to Travis Kelce then misfired on a deep shot to rookie Xavier Worthy before moving the chains with a 7-yard pass to DeAndre Hopkins.
The Chiefs had a fresh set of downs at the 45-yard line and still had plenty of time on the clock when Mahomes dropped back, slipped the pocket to the right and dashed down the sideline, cutting back inside near the first-down marker and easily rumbling into field-goal territory.
“We expected man coverage,” Mahomes said. “They got into a type of match zone, so they covered up our routes. I got off to the left and, at that point in the game, yards are more important than getting out of bounds. With three timeouts, I tried to just cut through and I think it was [wide receiver] Justin Watson who had a great block, so I was able to get down the field.”
Mahomes has shown that ability throughout his career, including the wild touchdown run down the sideline in the closing seconds of the first half against Tennessee in the 2019 AFC Championship Game.
“He has a great feel for the game,” Reid said. “He knows by the coverage where guys are and what they’re trying to accomplish with the coverage and then he can feel the front. He does a nice job there.”
Mahomes said such plays are more likely to happen late in games or during the playoffs because he’s less likely to slide in those big moments when he feels like the team needs a play to win.
“It’s just certain times in games,” Mahomes said. “It’s not like I pre-plan that kind of stuff. It’s just, whenever it comes down to it and you’ve got to make the play, I try to go out there and make the play.”
Mahomes actually had the ball knocked from his hand at the end of the play, costing the Chiefs a timeout but not the win.
Two plays after the long scramble, he connected with Kareem Hunt on a 10-yard swing pass off an RPO that shortened the game-winning kick to a very manageable 31-yarder for rookie Spencer Shrader, who was signed with Harrison Butker on injured reserve after knee surgery.
“You want to have some blowouts; you want to have them be a little calmer in the fourth quarter,” Mahomes said. “But I’ve always said it can be a good thing as you get to the playoffs and later in the season just knowing that you’ve been in those moments before and knowing how to attack it play-by-play, not making it too big of a moment.”
It’s also a good thing Mahomes isn’t afraid to tuck it and run when the situation calls for it and Kansas City needs its leader to make a play.
—
