Mahomes and Reid Get Real About Age, Birthdays, and Bulldozing Defenders

Two games, two trucks

When Mahomes tattooed rookie safety Andrew Mukuba in Sunday’s loss to the Eagles, and the week before when he lit up Chargers cornerback Donte Jackson, Andy Reid wasn’t exactly fired up. But the head coach also took a realistic approach to his quarterback’s choices in the open field.

“Yeah, listen, I'm okay with it,” Reid said Wednesday. “You know, as long as he can come back upright, we're okay. I don't like him taking big hits, but he's a competitive kid in the run game.”

So competitive that he leads NFL quarterbacks entering Week 3 with 123 rushing yards. That’s 1 yard less than Christian McCaffrey (124) and more than Jahmyr Gibbs (113), Bucky Irving (108), Nick Chubb (103) and Chuba Hubbard (95).

Staying longer in the pocket

Unfortunately for the Chiefs, it’s also more than any of their own running backs. And no one needs to remind Mahomes that Kansas City can’t sustain that pattern. Displaying wisdom to match his age, the quarterback on Wednesday said he needs to stay in the pocket more often, trusting his linemen and receivers.

“I think even some of the runs that I made,” Mahomes said, “that if I would have just stayed a little bit longer, I could have made some throws to guys and let them make some plays happen. And so, obviously, the runs work, and so you have success in the play and stuff like that. But when you look back on the tape, sometimes you want to make sure that you're going through the progression the right way.”

And as Reid said, as long as Mahomes gets up the right way after contact, the quarterback will continue to evolve his dual-threat status. Plus, after critics saw Mahomes with his shirt off this summer, the quarterback is now taking advice from vice president of communications Brad Gee.

“I think, just pick and choose,” he said Wednesday, referring to his scrambling. “And I think more than anything, it's just knowing when to do it, when not to do it, protecting yourself, but still being a football player and a competitor. So, I think that that's it, more than anything. And then, Brad says Taco Bell, so that does it for me, too.”

New decade

Indeed, Mahomes entered a new decade on Wednesday with a different level of metabolism, and a prolonged lack of meaningful sleep.

“No, I feel the same. But I got kids. I've been 30 forever.”

And for Reid, more than anything Mahomes has accomplished in his 30s, knowing the quarterback feels the same at 30 as he did at 29 bodes well for the Chiefs’ future.

“Yeah, he's done quite a bit, you know, to 30,” Reid added Wednesday. “It's hard to believe he's 30 years old. Time flies. I asked him if he felt old. You know, sometimes when you're in your 20s, you look at 30, and that looks like an old man. Says he feels the same. I told him, ‘That's a good thing. When you get to my age, you want to make sure you feel the same!’”