Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes explains why he insists on playing some snaps during the preseason
Other teams around the NFL often sit their starters during the preseason, but not the Kansas City Chiefs. Andy Reid has always held the opinion that you can't get better unless you get out on the field and play. That goes for both the practice field and preseason games. Reid will follow his typical strategy for Week […]
Other teams around the NFL often sit their starters during the preseason, but not the Kansas City Chiefs.
Andy Reid has always held the opinion that you can't get better unless you get out on the field and play. That goes for both the practice field and preseason games.
Reid will follow his typical strategy for Week 1 of the preseason against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday, all before giving the starters even more playing time in preseason Week 2.
"As far as the play time for this game," Reid told reporters after practice. "We'll go the ones for a quarter, just one for a quarter, twos for the second quarter, threes for the third quarter, and the fours for the fourth quarter. We'll just keep it at that."
If things track like they have the past two seasons, Reid will play the first-team offense for a single series so long as they have a drive that ends in points. If it doesn't, we could see Patrick Mahomes and the starters out there for another series. That wouldn't be something that bothers No. 15, though.
Why does Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes insist on playing during the preseason?
As a three-time Super Bowl champion, Mahomes could probably go to Chiefs HC Andy Reid and request to sit out of the preseason. Reid also might be obliged to grant the request. He's surely earned it through his play on the field.
It'd also allay all the fan worry that comes when Mahomes takes a hit during what is a meaningless game in terms of the standings. The thing is, that's simply not in his DNA. Mahomes is a competitor, and he wants to get out there and play, even if that means taking a hit from an opposing defense.
"I already took my first hit," Mahomes told reporters in jest. "You didn't see Chris (Jones) the other day? He just smoked me."
Mahomes likes to get the hit out of the way in the preseason because it allows him to play more freely once the regular season arrives. He's not masochistic. He's not looking to get his head taken off by a defender, but just a little something to get the juices flowing.
"I always want to get hit, but not hit hard," Mahomes said. "So if I can just throw the ball and one of those D-Ends just wants to just give me a little push. That's all I need."
What's most important about playing in the preseason for Mahomes, beyond the ceremonial first hit? It serves as a gauge to make sure the work they've been putting in during training camp has been a success. If not, and things go awry, it's back to the drawing board.
"It's cool," Mahomes said. "I like playing in the preseason, honestly. Getting in there, trying to make sure that we're doing stuff the right way, and then getting out, trying to keep everybody healthy. And then playing the sport that I love. So I'm excited for the opportunity. Hopefully, we can hold off the rain a little bit and go out there and play a good football game against a good team."
Saturday will prove an opportunity to put everything practiced in St. Joe to the test. It'll let Mahomes and the rest of the team know if they're heading in the right direction when it comes to their goal of becoming the only NFL team to win three consecutive Super Bowl titles.