Getty Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes II in Week 12.
Everyone loves accountability, and it’s no surprise that this is another area Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes II excels.
The superstar signal-caller seemed pretty pissed off after the Week 12 victory over the Los Angeles Rams despite throwing for another casual 320 passing yards off 27 completions. Why? — Because of the “dumb” plays he shouldn’t have made.
Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes Calls Out ‘Dumb Play’ vs Rams
Mahomes wasn’t mad at his teammates after the 26-10 win over the Rams, he was mad at himself.
“The defense kept us in the game,” the Chiefs QB credited during his postgame press conference, “got some turnovers for us, got some big stops after some turnovers that we made, but especially in the red zone we gotta execute at a higher level — I gotta execute at a higher level.”
Mahomes continued, criticizing himself in front of reporters. “I gotta take out the one dumb play I make every game, it seems like,” he voiced. “If I can take that out, I think we’ll be alright.”
As smoothly as the offense has been operating in 2022, Mahomes is never satisfied and in all honesty, his unit did stall out in the red zone numerous times in Week 12. That made for a busy day for kicker Harrison Butker, who drilled four field goals with a long of just 32 yards.
The gunslinger also threw an interception in the end zone and had a second risky improvisation fall harmlessly to the ground nearby a waiting defender. When it comes to a talent like Mahomes, most fans will accept the fleeting moments of bad considering the positives are overwhelming. The Chiefs superstar isn’t so forgiving of himself.
“I was gonna throw it to Trav [Kelce] and then at the last second, I didn’t think I could get the [ball] in so I tried to pull it down a little bit and I threw it directly into the dude’s stomach,” Mahomes explained regarding his Week 12 interception. “I just gotta make sure that I don’t do that, especially in the red zone. Those are the ones that kill you in big games.”
Wanted to re-write this tweet w/ better understanding of Mahomes’ explanation (s/o @riesejr)
He wants to dirt this throw once he sees it isn’t open, but he just leaves it too high
15 was self-critical in post game:
“I got to take out like the one dumb play I
make every game.”
“I have to find ways to execute at a higher level,” the MVP favorite concluded later. “Get it to these guys in space [and] when we do have chances, we gotta make sure that we get [the ball] into the end zone… I missed a lot of open guys.”
Mahomes appeared anxious to take another look at the film and work on “fundamentals” this week in practice. That relentlessness is a major part of what makes him so great.
Patrick Mahomes Doesn’t Give Pass to Poor Special Teams Play
Aside from himself and the offense as a whole, Mahomes was also a bit critical of the special teams department — and for good reason. Rookie returner Skyy Moore muffed another punt and the ST play has been poor overall for the majority of the season.
“Obviously, some special teams and offense that we’ve gotta clean up,” the team leader stated boldly at the start of the presser.
The Chiefs have shuffled guys in and out of Dave Toub’s unit all year, re-signing veterans like Marcus Kemp when things weren’t working out. The kicker position has also had its struggles and the return game has been an outright disaster for the most part.
Toub has been around a long time and he’s head coach Andy Reid’s assistant HC for a reason. There’s always going to be loyalty there, but the excuses are getting old.
Patrick Mahomes Ready for Redemption vs Bengals
The Chiefs QB was also asked about his upcoming rematch with the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13.
“It’s not a good place [in my mind],” Mahomes responded while thinking back to last year’s AFC championship game. “They beat us, I played terrible in the second half, and we lost at home… we’ll be ready to go this next week for sure.”
Mahomes admitted that the crushing defeat taught him to never be satisfied with where he’s at, which explains a lot about his Rams comments. “[The Bengals] are going to fight till the very end,” he noted, “that’s why they were in the Super Bowl.”
As it stands, Mahomes is 0-2 against Cincinnati since Joe Burrow was drafted.