Analyzing Patrick Mahomes’ preseason debut with Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs took the field for the first time in the preseason, and it was also our first look at rookie Patrick Mahomes…

Friday night marked the debut of the Kansas City Chiefs for the 2017 preseason, which means we got our first extended look at rookie quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

The Chiefs invested both a 2017 and 2018 first round pick in Mahomes when they traded up with the Buffalo Bills, so his debut was understandably very highly anticipated.

Mahomes has been making ‘wow’ throws at Chiefs training camp, but with Alex Smith and Tyler Bray ahead of him on the depth chart, the preseason may be the only time we get to see him on the field this season.

Here’s every play from his debut:

Let’s dive in and pick this debut apart play-by-play:

Play 1: Shotgun formation. Quick screen to the wide receiver in a bunch formation, and Mahomes’ throw is out in front of the receiver. It’s a good pass, setting up the receiver to get his feet moving and get some momentum to try and gain some yards after the catch.

Play 2: Shotgun formation. This is a screen pass to the running back on third-and-long. Nothing spectacular or bad here.

Play 3: Shotgun formation. Another wide receiver screen, this one to the speedy and quick De’Anthony Thomas. Thomas uses the open space to get a first down on a well-timed ball from Mahomes.

Play 4: Shotgun formation, deeper drop. Mahomes actually has a couple of receivers open on the left side of the field here, and he fires a pass into the much tighter window. Still, the pass is on  target, and Mahomes’ arm strength allows him to get away with much tougher plays than this.

Play 5: Shotgun formation. The situation is 1st and goal, and Mahomes has to scramble around a little bit as the coverage holds up and his protection starts to break down. He shows off his athleticism a little bit, and makes a throw to the back of the end zone that is too high for his intended receiver. It almost seemed like a throw-away at first glance, but this was actually much closer to being a touchdown than it seemed.

Play 6: Shotgun formation. Again, we are in a goal-to-go situation, and Mahomes makes a very risky play here. He sees one-on-one coverage between the receiver and corner, but I don’t think he sees the safety lurking over the top. The ball falls innocently incomplete, but any different location on this ball and it could have been picked off or his receiver would have gotten absolutely crushed.

Play 7: Under center, play-action. Mahomes rolls out to his right, lures the defense to a spot in the back right corner of the end zone, and then dumps a pass across his body for a TOUCHDOWN. This was a very nice play by Mahomes, reminiscent of his Texas Tech days.

Play 8: Shotgun formation. Protection holds up for Mahomes, who is waiting for a deeper route across the middle of the field to develop. He sets his feet nicely and delivers a strike for the first down to his receiver.

Play 9: Shotgun formation. Mahomes’ initial read is well-covered, though he reached his arm back to fire and had to pull the ball back. He scrambles a bit to avoid some pressure, and ends up making an errant throw after not setting his feet again. Had he re-set himself, he would have been able to hit his open slot receiver for a nice gain.

Play 10: Shotgun formation, deep drop. Mahomes is pressured and has to abandon the pocket sooner than he would have wanted. He finds his outlet on the play who is able to make a play after the catch. He probably could have just thrown this one out of bounds, and nine times out of 10 the receiver is not going to get past the line of scrimmage against a top NFL defense. It worked out for him this time.

Play 11: Under center, quick drop. The ball is thrown behind Mahomes on a screen play, essentially a very wide running play. The receiver gains some yards after the catch before fumbling.

Bottom Line: 7-of-9 passing, 49 yards, 1 TD

All in all, it was a generally mistake-free outing for Mahomes. There weren’t many throws he made downfield, and plenty of quick screen passes to try and get him in rhythm. Still, we were able to see some of what we did from Mahomes at Texas Tech with his improvisational skills, and for a preseason debut, this is a nice stat-line and overall performance.