The Chiefs’ short-yardage issues have pushed quarterback sneaks back into the conversation, and Patrick Mahomes is open to the idea.
Kansas City has had trouble getting the job done in tight spaces this season, a problem that came into sharper focus after it failed to score from the 1-yard line in a 28-24 loss to the Denver Broncos. Even with new running back Kenneth Walker III contributing, the Chiefs still need a different answer in those situations.
Mahomes has not forgotten the last time this came up. The Chiefs haven’t called a quarterback sneak since 2019, when he dislocated his right kneecap on one against the Broncos, according to Jesse Newell of The Athletic. That injury cost him two games, and the play has stayed out of the game plan ever since.
Still, Mahomes said he’d be willing to do it again. He put it plainly: “I’m going to do whatever it takes to win.”
That doesn’t mean Andy Reid is eager to send him into that kind of contact, especially with Mahomes coming off knee surgery. But Mahomes said the Chiefs have built in checks that would let him call the play, and he stressed that the team isn’t “scared” to use it - it’s just something they haven’t done.
There is also a wrinkle to how Kansas City has handled sneaks since Mahomes’ injury. According to Pro Football Focus, the Chiefs have run eight sneak plays since then, but Blake Bell or Noah Gray has been under center for every one of them.
The last of those came in 2023 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Newell reported, and Gray was stopped short. That version of the play has not exactly been a reliable fix around the league, either.
Reid didn’t want to spend much time on the topic, but the numbers make the case for why it keeps coming up. PFF says 133 of 177 sneaks have converted for first downs this season, a 75 percent success rate.
Mahomes believes Kansas City will need to adjust if it wants to clean up its short-yardage problems. One option Newell raised was using backup quarterback Justin Fields on the sneak, and Reid said the logistics would work. Fields went 6 of 7 on sneaks last year with the New York Jets, according to Tru Media.
It would be a pretty obvious tell, but the Chiefs are clearly searching for answers.
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