The talk of the NFL world this week has been the controversial hit Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence took from Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair while sliding during Sunday's game in Jacksonville.
The play—which resulted in Lawrence being placed on injured reserve and Al-Shaair being suspended for three games—has sparked debate league-wide about the rules surrounding protecting quarterbacks, how fair they are to defenders, and if QBs are taking advantage of them.
One player who's often been criticized for the way he tiptoes down the sideline in a way that can be seen as baiting defenders into hitting him is Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The KC signal caller was asked about it this Wednesday amid the Lawrence situation:
"I'm just playing football at the end of the day," Mahomes explained. "I don't feel like I've ever put anybody in jeopardy of not wanting to hit me. I know when you get in the open field guys want to hit you and I get down when I feel like it's necessary to get down, but there's times in big spots in the games where I know I need to get first downs and I go for it."
"It's not taking advantage of any rules and I think—more than anything—it's me being smart in the moment of knowing when not to and when to go for it," he continued. "You've seen that from me in the playoffs and I feel like you see that from me in big spots in games because I know that sliding at that moment is not going to get us the win and I'm all about winning."
Over his seven-year playing career, 28 roughing-the-passer penalties have been called on Mahomes—the eighth most among active quarterbacks behind Russell Wilson, Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, Jared Goff, Josh Allen and Carson Wentz.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Patrick Mahomes Questioned By Reporter About Taking Advantage of QB Protection Rules.
