Why Mahomes Is Confident Chiefs Can Hit Big Plays ‘At Any Moment’

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes spoke from the podium Thursday at team headquarters. The Chiefs (4-3) host the Washington Commanders (3-4) on Monday Night Football (7:15 p.m. CT, ESPN/ABC, KMBC Ch. 9, 96.5 The Fan).

To view his comments, watch and read below:

On how the team can still improve after such a dominant performance last week:

“Yeah, I mean, every game you can look at and you find things that you can be better at. And so, for us, I think it's just going and looking at those plays where we didn't execute at the level that we wanted to, and we were able to cover that up with some other big plays and certain drives. But at the same time, you learn from the mistakes that you made throughout the game, and you see what you did well, and then try to maximize that as well. And so, it's a steady building process that we have to continue to get better.”

On the play of Jaylon Moore in place of Josh Simmons at left tackle:

“Yeah, he's done a great job. I mean, he's been ready. He comes to work every single day, a true pro, and he comes to work with the mentality of being ready for that next snap. And so, he's done it all throughout training camp, and now he's done it in the regular season. And that's the reason that he's here.”

patrick mahome — Oct 19, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) passes the ball under pressure from Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Jamal Adams (33) during the second quarter of the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

On how much more fun he had Sunday compared to last season:

“Yeah, I mean, I think just having success, you train so hard to go out there and have success on every drive, and whenever you're gonna go out there and do that, man, it is. It is something that you're happy about. But the same time, you have to continue to get better and better. And in this league, defenses adjust, and they challenge you to be even better. And so, we'll continue to build. I feel like we still have a long ways to go, and we're just kind of hitting our stride. Let's continue to get better and better as the season goes on.”

On Sunday’s trick plays and how many of those are in the playbook:

“Coach does do that. He kind of gives us some plays that we can work on and kind of keep the energy level high, because you're trying to execute it when you get a chance to run it in the game. But there's a lot of plays that we work on, especially throughout training camp, stuff like that.

“And then there's plays that come to us with every single week, that week, that they're new and that are innovative and are made for specific situations. You just don't know if that situation is going to happen this week, or it's gonna happen at the end of the year. I mean, everybody talks about the Rose Bowl play that we had, that we worked on. That was from OTAs, and we didn't run it until the Super Bowl. So, I mean, that's just stuff where you have to stay on the details, because you never know in that exact moment if it’s gonna come up.”

On getting only five snaps with Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy and Hollywood Brown in the same huddle:

“Yeah, I think it speaks to the room, that we have a lot of talented guys there, and so you never know where. And obviously Rashee’s gonna get a big amount of targets and receptions, with Xavier the same way, and then Hollywood. But at the same time, Tyquan (Thornton) can hit a 30-yard completion any moment, JuJu (Smith-Schuster) can hit a 15-, 20-yard completion any moment, Brashard (Smith) can hit a 20-yard completion any moment.

“You don't know where it's going to come from. And so, that's a luxury for us; you want to keep defenses guessing. And I mean, all these guys are gonna get a lot of catches and they're gonna have their moment, but they'll be ready to go whenever that moment comes.”

On Kliff Kingsbury, now Commanders offensive coordinator, recruiting him to Texas Tech:

“Yeah, I mean, he's one of the first people, I would say, that truly believed in me, in playing the quarterback position. And so, he gave me a ton of advice, of refining me, but letting me still be -- just be me and play to my strengths. And so, a great coach, a great person, I still stay in touch with, not as much this week, but throughout my career.

“And he helped me get to where I'm at today, because he didn't put me in a box and tell me I need to play quarterback this way. He let me just go out there and be myself and be how I play, the way that got me there. And I think that's something that's special about him as a coach.”

kliff kingsbury, luke mccaffre — Sep 21, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Luke McCaffrey (11) celebrates with Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury (R) after scoring a touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

On the progress Brashard Smith has made in such a short time:

“Yeah, he's made a ton of progress, and he'll continue to get better and better. I mean, Coach Reid's offense is hard, especially for that position, because you have to do so many things, as far as running, catching, blocking, all the different things. And he's been a sponge, man. He's been learning a ton, and whenever he gets his opportunities, he's making plays happen.

“And I think he's just another weapon in this offense. And he'll continue to get more and more snaps. And then he's done a great job in special teams as well, which I think gets lost in the fold of things, which is huge on our team.”

brashard smit — Oct 6, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Brashard Smith (24) runs during the second half against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images | Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

On his college recruiting process:

“I wouldn't say that, but I just always, you kind of hear that undertone of that talking of, ‘You can't play that way.’ And Coach Kingsbury never, ever forced me to be just a pocket passer or hold the ball a certain way. He just let me. He would obviously help with my footwork and stuff like that, and going through progressions, but he would just let me play. When it came to playing, he's like, ‘Once you get to the game, you got to go out there and just play your game.’

“And same with Coach Reid and Nags (Matt Nagy). When I got here, they wanted to keep refining and refining, but at the same time, they wanted me to go out there and just play the game the way that got me here. And so, I've been blessed, because you can go into some situations, and I've seen quarterbacks in other situations, that their game gets kind of boxed in, and they don't get to be the best version of themselves.”

On what happened at the University of Texas during recruiting, whether the Longhorns wanted him to play another position:

“A little bit. Texas, I don't know if it was that bad. I mean, it was just more of … I went to, like one of those recruiting days. There was junior day, sophomore day, whatever it was. And they told me they wanted me to … I went to walk with the quarterbacks, and they were like, ‘No, we’re actually bringing you here for the safeties.’ So that was kind of, at the time I did play safety, I had a lot of picks, so I understood.

“I understood that, but I knew that I didn't like tackling people, so then I knew that wasn't going to be for me. And then mostly, most teams and colleges thought I was gonna play baseball. And I think that was something that scared away a lot of colleges, just because my dad played, and other guys were kind of getting recruited at the quarterback position and then going and playing baseball. But I ended up sticking with football at Texas Tech. They believed that I could play both in college and then end up choosing football at the end.”

On whether he’s disappointed he won’t get to go head-to-head with Jayden Daniels:

“Yeah. I mean, you want to go up against the best of the best, and Jayden, with the way he played last year, man, he's in that category. And so, he's a talented football player. I've watched him play since he was at Arizona State and LSU until now in the NFL.

“And Kliff speaks extremely highly of him as a person. And so, I'm hoping he gets healthy sooner rather than later. But at the same time, and I know Marcus (Mariota) can play, too. I mean, I've seen it first-hand at Arrowhead in the playoffs, and I've seen him play throughout my entire career, and have a lot of successful games, including this year.

“And so, we understand it's still gonna be a great challenge going up against a great football team, and guys who’ve had a lot of success in the NFL.”

On whether he still uses his recruitment as motivation in the NFL:

“Not necessarily. I think I'm just wired that I just like, I wanna win, I think that more than anything. It's not about proving anyone wrong or anything like that. It's just like, I'm here and I've gotten this opportunity; why not maximize it? And so, I didn't get a lot of offers, but at the same time, I didn't know anything different. I was so excited when Texas Tech offered me, that I had a chance to go to college and play football.

“And looking back on it now, watching my tape, I'm like, ‘I would have offered me.’ But at the time, I knew nothing different.”

On his memories of the loss to Mariota and the Titans in the 2017 playoffs at Arrowhead:

“Yeah. I mean, it was just such a crazy swing of momentum. And there was a couple of plays here and there that kind of changed the whole thing. You talk about the Derrick Johnson sack, the fumble that didn't get called. And then Marcus making that crazy play where the ball gets tipped, he catches it, scores a touchdown. And then Travis (Kelce) getting hurt right before the half.

“I mean there's just so many plays where you had so much momentum that we didn't capitalize on, which I've learned from, that you can't let those plays completely change the game. You have to find ways to manage that. And so, definitely learned a lesson, even though I didn’t get to play in that game, it was a learning lesson for me on how big football games, big plays really do matter.”

marcus mariot — Jan 6, 2018; Kansas City, MO, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the third quarter against the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Wild Card playoff football game at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean via Imagn Images | The Tennessean-Imagn Images

On whether he feels a connection with Mariota after co-starring in the docuseries Quarterback:

“One hundred percent. I mean, just the quarterback position in general, man, you see it. Like it's not always just the top; like you have a lot of great moments, but there's times throughout every season, even for me, that you go through these adverse times, and you have to push through to be even better.

“And I'm proud of him, man, because he's had a lot of great moments. He's had moments that he wanted to get back, but at the same time, he's persevered and gotten better and better. And now, he's in a great spot now where he's obviously teaching Jayden (Daniels). But when he comes in the game, you can tell he's one of those top-tier backup quarterbacks that's going to go out there and have success with everyone, whenever his number’s called. And that's a special spot to be. And I think he's done a great job and had a great career in the NFL.”

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