If there’s one redeeming quality of the NFL preseason, it’s that teams and players can have a little bit more fun and try some things that they wouldn’t during games that actually matter in the regular season. That was the case on Saturday as Patrick Mahomes dropped some razzle-dazzle that would make Magic Johnson proud with a behind-the-back completion to Travis Kelce.
The play brought social media to a standstill because who else would even attempt something that audacious in an NFL game whether it actually mattered or not? Let alone complete it?
Mahomes said he threw the behind-the-back pass to Kelce to prove a point because Kelce ran the wrong route. So instead of spiking it in the dirt or sliding on a busted play, the back-to-back Super Bowl MVP broke out a Showtime special.
In response, Kelce poked back at Mahomes during an in-game sideline interview. Taylor Swift’s boyfriend laughed it off and then even cracked a joke at his quarterback’s defense, talking about his “voice thing” and blaming him for mumbling the play.
.@tkelce gives his side of the story and roasts @PatrickMahomes voice while he’s at it
“You know he’s got the voice thing.” 😠https://t.co/YkMqnnHfkn pic.twitter.com/kDuA2euLTu
— NFL (@NFL) August 17, 2024
“It wasn’t a play? No it was a play, it was a first down! You know he’s got the voice thing (imitates some kind of hoarse Kermit the Frog impression) so he kind of mumbled out the play, I couldn’t hear it. I was walking up to the line, I was like trying to decipher what he was saying,” Kelce said.
“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 I guess it was just right place, right time.”
Mahomes? Voice thing? That’s been around since Patrick Mahomes stepped into the national spotlight given his unique sound. We’re not sure if Mahomes will follow Tom Brady into the TV booth when his career ends, but it doesn’t matter when you’re racking up Super Bowl rings with ease.
The other great thing about preseason is being able to hear from Travis Kelce on the sidelines when he’s in podcast mode and able to crack some jokes. It’s all fun and games in Kansas City right now looking for the three-peat and you just know Andy Reid will find a way to get Patrick Mahomes to pull this off in the regular season just because he can.
