There weren't many highlights for the Kansas City Chiefs' offense last Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. But there was at least one, in the form of a 33-yard mad dash from quarterback Patrick Mahomes— a play that has received scrutiny in the days since.
In case you missed it, Mahomes came under some fire for how he danced on the sideline to extend his scramble. It appeared like the superstar quarterback slowed down to pretend like he was going out of bounds in order to fool oncoming 49ers linebacker Dee Winters. Winters didn't want to risk a flag for a late hit on Mahomes so he visibly slowed down, allowing Mahomes to juke him and stay in-bounds to gain an extra 26 yards.
The magic of Mahomes: pic.twitter.com/urLelxF9pe
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 20, 2024
On Thursday, Mahomes was asked about the accusation that he took advantage of the rules and defended himself, insisting he wasn't trying to utilize any loophole.
"I didn’t believe on that play right there I was really showing like I was going to go out of bounds," Mahomes said, per NFL reporter James Palmer. "I don’t want to ever put a defender in a bad spot. I know that we are all competing. When I go out of bounds, I’m going to go out of bounds, I’m not going to try to fake a guy out by using a loophole in the rules.
"At the time, I was going to cut back and get the first down, and then once I cut back, I was going to do one of those dives for the first down, but I cut back and realized I had a lane to run, so I went down the sideline and then, I literally ran out of bounds on that exact play. When I go out of bounds, I’m going to go out of bounds, and whenever I’m trying to get a first down, I’ll get a first down. I’m not trying to use a loophole or anything in the rules to try to cheat in any way."
Absent all else, it would be very dangerous for Mahomes to start faking out of bounds like that on a regular basis. Defenses will be on the lookout for such a move and be far more willing to lay the wood on the star quarterback. Right now defenders, like Winters in the above clip, tend to err on the side of caution because Mahomes so often goes out of bounds in those scenarios. If Mahomes forces them to change their habits he's putting himself at risk of some huge hits while dancing on the boundary. Which he is undoubtedly aware of, hence why he chose to gave this story some air with his lengthy response above.
Mahomes will next take the field on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. against the Las Vegas Raiders in an AFC West clash.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Patrick Mahomes Insists He Wasn't Using 'Loophole' on Highlight Run vs. 49ers.
