Patrick Mahomes on Interception: ‘Probably One of the Worst I’ve Ever Had'
The Kansas City Chiefs lost by a single point to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, with the final score being a 36-35 close call. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was good for much of the night, but he played far from a perfect game.
On the night, Mahomes completed 24 of his 31 passing attempts for 343 yards and a trio of touchdowns. His 131.5 passer rating was stellar. Mahomes navigated the pocket well on numerous instances and made several jaw-dropping plays. It was a third-quarter interception, though, that helped change the tide for the Ravens.
You read that right: Mahomes had never thrown an interception in the month of September before that ill-advised throw. After the game, the recently-turned 26-year-old made it perfectly clear to the media that he was disappointed in his decision with just over two minutes left in the third.
"It's just a dumb interception," Mahomes said. "Probably the worst I've ever had."
Arguably the best part of Mahomes' game is his ability to get out of the pocket and/or extend plays. He dazzles with his ability to fit throws into tight windows or get the ball off from any arm angle. On the aforementioned play, he was simply trying to do too much and his throw ended up in the arms of Ravens cornerback Tavon Young. It was a costly decision that helped shift some momentum back to Baltimore's side.
With all of that said, Mahomes was far from the main reason the Chiefs lost on Sunday. Much else went wrong throughout the contest, whether it be run defense, pass coverage woes or running the football to little success at inopportune times. For the most part, the Chiefs' superstar quarterback was on-target and played a winning brand of football.
One of the main draws with Mahomes is that he typically doesn't repeat his mistakes. He hasn't thrown a ton of interceptions thus far in his relatively young NFL career, but for him to single this one out as perhaps the worst yet means a lot. One play can contribute to changing the outcome of a game, and Mahomes is aware of that. He'll likely look to eat plays like that moving forward and live to see another down. For the Chiefs' sake, it's better that he experiences that now rather than later in the 2021 campaign.
