Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes displays leadership by shouldering the blame for a mistake that wasn’t his fault
This wasn’t on him.
The Kansas City Chiefs have fallen to 0-2 for the first time since 2014 after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 20-17 in Week 2.
A crucial moment in that game came early in the fourth quarter was when a pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes bounced off the hands of tight end Travis Kelce and into the hands of Eagles safety Andrew Mukuba for an interception.
Had Kelce caught the ball, he likely would have crossed the goal line for a touchdown, or at worst tackled at the one-yard line with third-and-goal upcoming. It was an embarrassing moment for Kelce not only because he dropped the ball, but earlier in the game he threw a temper tantrum on the sidelines because the Chiefs’ offense wasn’t playing up to par.
Patrick Mahomes takes the blame for Travis Kelce’s drop
While speaking to the media after Sunday’s loss, Mahomes unsurprisingly took responsibility for the interception.
“We got the defense that we wanted,” Mahomes said. “I think I threw it a tad too early, just trying to put it on his body low before the [defender] got there. I think if I can put it more on his body and not so far out in front of him, then he can catch it, take the hit, and get in the end zone.”
“You want to put it low, but more on his body,” Mahomes continued. “Whenever you’re in those tight quarters like that, you want to give it to him, especially a bigger guy, more on his body. He can catch it and brace for that contact. We knew the whole play that we’d be looking for him. That’s (Kelce) one of our big targets down there in the redzone. He was breaking to make a hit, and unfortunately the ball bounced up in the air, and went right to him (Mukuba).”
Mahomes is always going to take the heat for his teammates and coaches like the leader that he is, but the interception was definitely not his fault. Kelce is a future Hall of Fame player, and the ball hit him directly in the hands during the biggest moment of the game.
Coming away with a touchdown on that drive would have given Kansas City a four-point lead. Even if the Eagles would have responded with a TD of their own, the Chiefs’ offense would have gotten the ball back with a chance to win the game only down by three. If Kelce is going to get onto everybody else for not doing their jobs, he might want to avoid making critical mistakes of his own.
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