[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbwa53mtds520q2 player_id=none image=https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has seen some of the worst interception luck in the league this season.
His interceptions, specifically those first touched by a Chiefs player, have been the subject of much debate. Many have tried to assign blame for the interceptions, but Chiefs HC Andy Reid says at the end of the day, Mahomes is the one to shoulder the blame even if there is more to the play than meets the eye.
“He owns everything, that’s how he’s wired,” Reid said. “However, there are a lot of things that go into it.”
Looking back at his tipped ball interception against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11, Mahomes felt he could have put his man in a better position to make a play on the ball. He threw the ball in a spot where it made a tipped pass more likely, and with a chance to throw it again, he would have done something differently.
“Yeah I mean if you look back at the one with Travis (Kelce), the Cowboys game,” Mahomes began. “If I put the ball in front of him, he probably catches it, breaks a tackle and gets extra yards. But I kind of threw it on his back hip and it got tipped up and intercepted. Just because it hits them, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s in the spot for them to make the catch, so I got to make sure I’m putting it in the right spot every time.”
Entering the Week 13 game against the Denver Broncos, there is a renewed emphasis on tipped passes in Kansas City, and it’s not just those tipped by Chiefs players. Reid says that the Broncos are one of the best teams in football when it comes to tipping passes at the line of scrimmage.
“We’re playing a team that has the leader over the last bit of tipped balls,” Reaid said. “Their No. 96 (Shelby Harris) is tremendous at that. They had four tipped balls against us last year, so as an offense we’ve got to make sure we’re aware of that and take care of business on that.”
Broncos defensive lineman Shelby Harris has a combined 16 passes batted in 2019 and 2020, but only one on the season so far. Another player Mahomes will be keying in on is Broncos CB Patrick Surtain II. The rookie has three interceptions on the year, including a 70-yard pick-six off a tipped pass in Week 12.
“First off, he’s physically – I mean he has all the talent you could possibly want,” Mahomes said of Surtain. “He’s tall, he’s fast, he’s big, he’s physical and then you can tell his dad was a player. You tell those guys that their smart, they understand the game, even for a rookie, he has a veteran mindset. He understands what they’re trying to do as a defense. He’s someone you definitely have to know where he’s at every single play and he’s getting better and better each and every week.”
While there are things the Chiefs will be practicing this week to help prepare for tipped passes, sometimes there is no avoiding it. It’s just the way the cookie crumbles.
“Yeah, it’s all part of it,” Reid said. “Sometimes these things come in droves and you’ve just got to work through them.”
Hopefully, in Week 13, that cookie crumbles in a way that is positive for Kansas City.
[listicle id=111458]