The Kansas City Chiefs are very familiar with Baltimore Ravens CB Marcus Peters.
Peters was draft by the Chiefs in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft at pick No. 18 overall. He’d spend just three seasons in Kansas City before he was traded to the Los Angeles Rams ahead of the 2018 NFL season.
Peters was a good player for Kansas City, racking up 19 interceptions and 55 passes defended during his career with the Chiefs. His opportunistic ball skills were put on display often. But his tendency toward freelancing would go on to cost him during his latest meeting with his former team on “Monday Night Football.”
Check out Mecole Hardman’s touchdown catch:
Look at #Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes' eyes on this play. Looks to Tyreek Hill from the snap, gets #Ravens CB Marcus Peters to drive on that route, then uncorks the deep shot to Mecole Hardman. Way to take advantage of a former teammate. pic.twitter.com/GRzhpgRkTB
— Charles Goldman (@goldmctNFL) September 29, 2020
This play almost seems designed to impact and draw the attention of Peters. He leaves his deep thirds assignment to try and jump the route by Tyreek Hill. He also leaves his teammate, DeShon Elliott, who is tasked with covering the underneath route, in a really tough spot. He’s basically left in no man’s land trying to play catchup with Hardman.
It can’t be overstated how impressive it is that Mahomes is able to look Peters off, keep his eyes toward the middle of the field, and have the anticipation to get this ball to Hardman while under pressure. This isn’t the first time that Mahomes has been able to look Peters off like this either.
While Peters didn’t play for the Chiefs when Patrick Mahomes was the starting quarterback, the two grew to respect each other during practice, as Mahomes played the role of the scout team quarterback in 2017. Former Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali also famously told reporters that Mahomes took advantage of Peters’ ball-hawking tendencies during practice.
That familiarity with Peters came into play during the Week 3 game. Both Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes took advantage at times, knowing that Peters’ eyes would be elsewhere rather than focusing on his assignment.
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