KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Rejoice, NFL, teammates revealed this week something that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes doesn’t excel at — touchdown celebrations.
The Chiefs, who are 6-1 and host the Denver Broncos at noon Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, are averaging more than four touchdowns per game, so there’s been a lot to celebrate this season.
And the creativity of the end-zone revelry has been pretty cool for players and fans alike with the NFL’s relaxed celebration rules.
“Sometimes, we talk about it — ‘What should we do?’” said running back Kareem Hunt, who’s responsible for nine of the Chiefs’ 32 touchdowns this season. “But we just go out there and have fun with it. We really don’t plan too much about touchdown dances, but we go out there and have fun with it.”
If there is a choreographed plan, Hunt said the inspiration usually comes from tight end Travis Kelce, or wide receivers Chris Conley and Tyreek Hill.
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But it’s not a regular part of the weekly routine — at least not to coach Andy Reid’s knowledge.
Asked if he’d seen any rehearsals, Reid said, “I haven’t. Probably glad I haven’t.”
“Have you seen any [touchdown celebration] rehearsals?"
Andy Reid: “I haven’t. Probably glad I haven’t.” 😂 pic.twitter.com/8A82kgGU64
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) October 25, 2018
Still, Reid doesn’t mind the bursts of joy when the team hits pay dirt, even if he’s seldom paying attention.
“I don’t get to see much,” Reid said. “For whatever reason, I go back to my game plan sheet or I make sure the kickoff team or the extra point is numbered out right. I’m not getting to see everything until afterwards to its fullest. There is some creativity. As long as they stay within the rules, I am all right with it. You have to know when to do this thing because that clock is rolling. If there’s a chance you have to go for two and do something there, you can’t do all that. You have to stay in the moment and know what is going on in the game.”
Mahomes, whose signature touchdown move has become a wiping motion with both hands down the numbers on the front of his jersey, likes to join in the fun with teammates, but there’s ample video evidence that it occasionally becomes … well, awkward … as it did during Sunday’s win against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“I didn’t get a ton of practice time and then I kind of came in late, so I had to try to find the rhythm as we were going,” Mahomes said when asked to explain his touchdown celebration struggles versus Cincy. “I felt like I was getting right on it and they all took off on me. If you watch the end, I was kind of figuring it out there.”
Hunt offered a different possible explanation: “Or he just don’t got no rhythm.”
Mahomes makes up for it by being one heckuva quarterback. He has completed 163 of 251 passes for 2,223 yards with 22 touchdowns and five interceptions this season.
Mahomes leads the NFL in touchdown passes. He also leads the AFC and ranks second in the NFL in passing yards.
