Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes surprised NFL fans when he admitted that he didn’t understand how to read opposing defenses until halfway through the 2018 season.
On a recent episode of HBO’s “The Shop: Uninterrupted,” the Super Bowl LIV MVP revealed that it wasn’t until recently that he learned how to read defenses.
“I didn’t understand how to read defenses until halfway through last year,” Mahomes said. “I understood coverages, but to pick up the little tendencies that defenses do, stuff that Brady and them have done and just do it, I was just playing.
“And then this year I actually got to recognize more and more stuff, and I think the more experience and the more I learn, the more I’ll be able to go out there and call plays and do that different stuff because I’ve seen it.”
Mahomes is just catching up to where quarterback Deshaun Watson has been ever since the Houston Texans drafted him two picks after the Chiefs selected Mahomes at No. 10 overall.
“I knew it when I was coming in,” Watson told reporters on Oct. 16 when asked at what point he understood opposing defenses. “That was one of the biggest things, especially playing in this offense and playing for Coach (Bill) O’Brien, you’ve got to be smart and know what the defense is doing. That’s the only way you can really be successful in this league is knowing where to go with the ball and understanding what defenses are wanting to do.”
However, just because Watson was ahead of the curve on reading defenses, and the former Clemson Tiger has produced two Pro Bowl selections and a playoff win along with spearheading the club’s back-to-back AFC South titles in 2018-19, doesn’t mean that he is finished learning about the game.
“I’m always learning, always finding new ways to try to attack different defenses and then defensive coordinators are also trying to do different things,” said Watson. “As a course of career, I continue to grow, I continue to learn and study as much as I can.”
Similarly, just because Mahomes has won a Super Bowl and league MVP in 2018 doesn’t mean he is content to rest on his laurels.
“I still think there’s a long way for me to go there and that’s where mentally I feel like I could get better,” said Mahomes. “Physically I’ve done a lot of stuff I always work on the fundamentals and doing that stuff.
“I think mentally I could take my game to a whole another level.”
The Chiefs bested the Texans 51-31 in the AFC divisional playoffs at Arrowhead Stadium. Houston will have a chance to avenge the loss in the regular season in Kansas City at some point in the 2020 season.
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