The Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce show has returned to the football field.
As the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Detroit Lions during an NFL preseason game on Saturday, August 17, Mahomes, 28, somehow managed to pull off an epic behind-the-back pass to Kelce, 34, during the first quarter.
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“Long story short. Travis didn’t run the route he was supposed to run and then it was kind of a behind-the-back pass,” Mahomes told the NFL Network after the play. “I was pissed off at Travis. He was supposed to run a flat route. … I’m yelling at him and then he doesn’t run it. So out of spite, I threw a behind-the-back pass, but now it’s gonna be a highlight.”
When asked by a reporter whether the throw was improvised, Mahomes said it 100 percent was.
“That’s what I’ve been saying to everybody: It can’t be planned,” the quarterback explained. “It’s just got to naturally happen kind of in the groove of things. … It wasn’t like I planned that at all.”
When speaking with another sports reporter, however, Kelce appeared to have a different interpretation of what went down.
“No, it was a play. It was a first down,” he explained before poking fun at his teammate. “You know, [Patrick’s] got the voice thing. So he kind of mumbled out the play. I couldn’t hear it. I was walking up to the line. I was trying to decipher what he was saying. Before I knew it, he snapped the ball, and then I kind of saw him out of my peripheral run to the sideline, so I was trying to go help my guy out.”
.@tkelce ran the wrong route, so @patrickmahomes threw it behind his back because he was mad at him. 😅
"Out of spite, I threw a behind-the-back pass."
📺: #DETvsKC on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/UJZavoLryV— NFL (@NFL) August 17, 2024
Kelce continued, “By the time I look over there, he was already in mid-form like a photo on a sports card, throwing the ball to me. So it was just, I guess, right place at the right time.”
The Chiefs ultimately lost to the Lions by one point during the preseason game. The score of the game, however, won’t have a big impact on the regular season, which officially kicks off next month.
Mahomes, Kelce and the Chiefs will take on the Baltimore Ravens on September 5 for their opening game.
Before then, fans like Jason Kelce continue to watch Mahomes’ behind-the-back passes, which certainly don’t happen every game day.
“This son of a gun actually did it!! Magic Mahomes,” Jason, 36, wrote via X on Saturday. “If you missed it, here it is. Now that it’s been done in the preseason, I got a fever, and I need more cowbell.”