Patrick Mahomes Responds To Growing Accusations That He’s Using ‘Loophole’ In NFL Rules To Exploit Opposing Defenses

Patrick Mahomes (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
There weren’t many highlights of the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense last Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, but Patrick Mahomes surely had one when he used his feet.

The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback didn’t run out of bounds on his 33-yard run against the San Francisco 49ers last weekend, and that’s caused something of a stir.

During an interview with sportscaster Kay Adams, Hall of Fame defensive end Dwight Freeney said Mahomes was “taking advantage of soft rules” that protect quarterbacks.

Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce said on the New Heights podcast that Patrick Mahomes, “if we are being honest, used his ‘quarterbackness’ to his advantage.”

NFL rules today protect quarterbacks from taking big hits anywhere on the field, and that is especially true along the sideline if the player appears to be running out of bounds.

Players tend to let up and Patrick Mahomes seemed to take advantage of it.

Travis Kelce shot back at his brother, defending Mahomes.

“He’s not trying to trick a guy going out of bounds,” the Chiefs superstar said. “I just don’t see Pat doing it.”

Speaking to the media this week, Mahomes made it clear that he was not trying to exploit any loophole in the rules protecting quarterbacks.

“I didn’t believe on that play right there I was really showing like I was going to go out of bounds. I don’t want to ever put a defender in a bad spot. I know that we are all competing,” Patrick Mahomes told reporters.

“When I go out of bounds, I’m going to go out of bounds, I’m not going to try to fake a guy out by using a loophole in the rules. At the time, I was going to cut back and get the first down, and then once I cut back, I was going to do one of those dives for the first down, but I cut back and realized I had a lane to run, so I went down the sideline, and then, I literally ran out of bounds on that exact play.

“When I go out of bounds, I’m going to go out of bounds, and whenever I’m trying to get a first down, I’ll get a first down. I’m not trying to use a loophole or anything in the rules to try to cheat in any way.”

Patrick Mahomes Is Playing A Dangerous Game

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes didn’t run out of bounds on his 33-yard run against the San Francisco 49ers last weekend, sparking backlash across the league.

Although he insists he wasn’t exploiting any rules, now defenders will pay extra attention to him when he runs towards the sidelines.

This is already a dangerous game, but all it takes is one guy to throw caution to the wind, light him up, and change him forever.