The first thing the NFL should do in the offseason is address the growing problem known as Patrick Mahomes.
The quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs is exploiting the very rules that are designed to protect him and other quarterbacks — rules that make them hands-off and allow them to run all over the field with impunity. The NFL went to great lengths to make quarterbacks a protected species because they are the game’s biggest draw and play the most valuable and important role in all of team sports — and Mahomes is abusing the favor the league granted him.
Not cool.
Here’s the case against Mahomes: The NFL allows quarterbacks to slide to avoid contact (tackles) and thus protect them from injury. Once he begins to slide, defenders, by rule, must avoid hitting him with significant force. The quarterback must begin the slide before contact is imminent; otherwise, it’s too late for a defender to pull up to avoid contact.
A fake slide should be a 30-yard penalty. No, a 50-yard penalty. And he has to pick up the trash in the stands after the game.
Mahomes likes to slide late — way late — making it impossible for defenders to avoid contact. In last week’s playoff game against the Texans, he dashed up the field and delayed his slide until the last split second, when defenders were almost on top of him and too close to avoid a collision. Two Texas defenders made minor contact with Mahomes on the ground and crashed into each other, and somehow this was deemed a penalty.
“Oh, come on!” exclaimed Troy Aiken, the Hall of Fame quarterback who now provides TV color commentary. Clearly fed up with Mahomes’ shenanigans, Aiken continued, “He’s a runner, and I could not disagree with that (penalty) more. He barely gets hit. That’s the second penalty that’s been called against the Texans … They’ve gotta address this in the offseason. You can’t, as a quarterback, run around and play games with defenders and be able to draw a penalty.”
At times this season, Mahomes has faked a slide, causing defenders to pull up, and then continued to run, having fooled his opponents. This absolutely paralyzes would-be tacklers, who risk a fine and a penalty if they hit a sliding player and a big gain if they don’t. They’re damned if they do, damned if they don’t. A fake slide should be a 30-yard penalty. No, a 50-yard penalty. And he has to pick up the trash in the stands after the game.
The NFL essentially has made quarterbacks off limits for tacklers and this is especially true when they are running out of bounds. With defenders in hot pursuit in last Saturday’s game against the Texans, Mahomes raced toward the sideline and then slowed down just before he went out of bounds to bait his pursuers into crashing into him, hoping to draw a penalty (he failed). Then on top of that he did his best LeBron James flop out of bounds, looking as if he had just been shot.
“He’s trying to draw the penalty,” said Aikman. “You see that rather than run out of bounds, he slows down. That’s the frustration (for defenders), and I get it. That’s been the frustration for these defensive players around the league.”
In other words, Mahomes is risking injury by exploiting a rule that’s designed to reduce the risk of injury. Why give quarterbacks special treatment then?
Tom Brady, another former quarterback-turned-broadcaster, has weighed in on this topic: “Maybe they fine or penalize a quarterback for sliding late. You know, and say, ‘Look, if we don’t want these hits to take place, we’ve got to penalize the offense and the defense rather than just penalize the defensive player for every single play that happens when there’s a hit on the quarterback.”
Dallas Cowboys star linebacker Micah Parsons said, “I just think the NFL should do a better job clearing up the gray area. If a quarterback acts like he’s going out of bounds, he should go out of bounds, that’s where you should mark him at. If he’s acting like he’s going to slide, that’s where you should mark him at. Because at that point, it’s the contact issue.
“You see a lot of guys taking advantage and getting extra yards off that. Mahomes wins games off that. We can’t act like these aren’t game-changing opportunities and plays that they’re extending drives on. You just never know. There’s so many mobile quarterbacks in the NFL right now.”
Parsons is right. The quarterback position has evolved (and the rule hasn’t). The slide was created in 1985 when quarterbacks were relatively unathletic types who ran only out of desperation. They were a defenseless breed. Not anymore. Since the style of play changed with the adoption of the read- and run-pass options, many quarterbacks are now essentially an extra running back — Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen, Jayden Daniels, Justin Fields, Mahomes. They’re big, fast and athletic. Allen is 6-foot-5, 240 pounds; Hurts 6-1 223; Mahomes 6–2, 225, Daniels 6-4, 210; Fields 6-3, 230. Jackson is a twitchy 6-2, 205 pounds. Others such as Justin Herbert (6-6, 236), Trevor Lawrence (6-6, 220), and Joe Burrow (6-4, 216) are decent runners but run sparingly.
When these quarterbacks run, it’s the defenders who need protection.
The NFL already has made it impossible to play defense. The game is tilted entirely in favor of the offense. It’s especially difficult for the defense when a quarterback leaves the pocket. How are defenders supposed to stop a quarterback with all the constraints that they face? Quarterbacks are playing flag football while everyone else is playing tackle. Mahomes’ shenanigans have made things even more difficult, if not impossible.
Quarterbacks should be granted no exceptional protections once they leave the pocket. They should be treated like any other player at that point. No more sliding. It’s time to update the rules. Mahomes has made that very clear.
