Patrick Mahomes - two key plays vs the Ravens
- Maniac House Football
- Mar 11
- 2 min read
In this series we’ll choose two key plays from each game in 2024 that were made by Patrick Mahomes. This article will cover week 1 vs the Ravens.
2nd Quarter @8:05
The Chiefs convert on 3rd & long with a vintage Mahomes off script pass to Travis Kelce.
The Chiefs have 3rd & 12 here. Mahomes has Rice shift to the right side to help chip block. Kelce is aligned tight to the formation on the left.
Pressure from three different Ravens defenders forces Mahomes out of the pocket and rolling to his right side. Kelce is running what looks like a deep curl route. With Mahomes being forced into moving the launch point Kelce ad libs and heads toward open space where the numbers are.
It looks like Mahomes is wanting to go to Kelce but double coverage on him and front side pressure puts everything in a fray. Yet, this is the exact scenario where these two shine the most. Mahomes rolls out and tosses a pass off his back foot and places it square in front of Kelce; away from the defender and allowing Kelce to not have to break stride. 3rd and 12 with pressure and coverage? Not a problem for Mahomes and Kelce.
4th quarter @10:32
The Chiefs get a 35 yard touchdown pass to Xavier Worthy on 2nd & 10.
Mahomes has Pacheco motion to the right side before the snap. Pacheco coming out of the backfield gets the attention of the defensive back who’s covering Worthy on the outside. This allows Worthy to easily stack the defender and gives him a free pass into the end zone for six.
Having Worthy on the perimeter one on one is a matchup any team would take. The Chiefs spice it up with Pacheco in the flat making an already difficult task of covering a speedy receiver even more so. It’s tough enough for a cornerback to go stride for stride with elite speed. It’s another thing altogether when that cornerback’s eyes move into the backfield and allow that kind of speed green grass to run through. Maybe he thought he had safety help? Unfortunately the single high safety wasn’t playing that side of the field plus he was over by the mid hash marks; too far to have any impact on the play.
It looks like Mahomes is keeping his eyes straight down the middle; freezing the mid field defenders and giving Worthy an even bigger window for the touchdown pass. With Pacheco getting the attention of the defensive back and Mahomes using his eyes to keep defenders away the Chiefs play design here isn’t leaving anything to chance. Mahomes does a great job of reading the defense and recognizing coverage. The result is a 35 yard TD pass that falls into the lap of Worthy.
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