KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tommy Townsend hyperextended his knee two days before the Kansas City Chiefs hosted the Denver Broncos last week.
That left Townsend questionable for the game, but Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Dave Toub revealed Thursday that the Chiefs had a plan — an unbelievable, unexpected and shocking contingency plan.
“Believe it or not, 15’s (quarterback Patrick Mahomes) our backup punter,” Toub said. “He can do it. He shows me all the time. He’s (yelling), ‘Coach,’ and he's out there Saturday taking punts. He can do it all that guy. It’s unbelievable.”
Mahomes, a two-time NFL and Super Bowl MVP, is best known for throwing passes, extending plays and leading Kansas City through the championship desert to win the franchise’s first Super Bowl in 50 years.
The Chiefs have won two Super Bowls, played in another and lost twice in overtime in the AFC Championship Game during Mahomes’ five seasons as starter.
Kansas City currently is tied for the best record in the NFL at 5-1 and would be the No. 1 seed in the AFC if the playoffs started today.
Fortunately, the Chiefs didn’t have to resort to Mahomes punting during the 19-8 win against Denver.
Toub said Townsend “deserves a lot of credit” for playing and called it “very selfless,” especially given the impact it had in keeping continuity in the place-kicking operation.
According to Toub, the backup holder is Justin Watson, who will miss a few weeks with an elbow injury. Toub joked that Mahomes could probably do that job, too.
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