KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As Buffalo Bills fans roared after a third-down sack by their defense, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes trotted off the field, tossed the ball to an official and took his seat in the middle of the bench.
Soon after, Mahomes felt disgusted. He grabbed a tablet and rewatched the All-22 view of the Chiefs’ first-down snap early in the second quarter of their defeat to the Bills.
“If I throw it in bounds, it’s a walk-in touchdown,” Mahomes said of his longest pass in Sunday’s game. “I just have to be better there.”
Technically, Mahomes’ deep pass was in the field of play by about a yard. But rookie receiver Xavier Worthy failed to keep both feet in bounds while catching the ball, leading to perhaps the Chiefs’ most critical incompletion. Part of Worthy’s left foot was out of bounds, which led CBS broadcasters Jim Nantz and Tony Romo to groan when they watched the replay of the rookie’s mistake.
Xavier Worthy unable to stay inbounds pic.twitter.com/kweNz7FeWH
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 17, 2024
Instead of a 40-yard completion — one that would’ve put the ball at the Bills’ 30-yard line — the Chiefs offense never gained a yard on the possession, instead going backward for a 9-yard loss with the sack of Mahomes.
“Pat could have seen him earlier,” coach Andy Reid said Monday after he reviewed the play. “That’s part of it, but once you’re there, (Worthy) could have dragged his foot to keep it in. He’ll be able to chalk that one up to (a lack of) experience. That combination, those are the little things, though.
“(You’re talking) about 7 points there against a good team. We’ve got to make sure (that) we take care of business on both ends.”
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However, Mahomes and Worthy’s failure to connect on deep shots is not a new problem. The last time Mahomes completed a pass to Worthy with the ball traveling at least 30 yards past the line of scrimmage was Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers, according to TruMedia. Since that game, Mahomes has thrown eight similar deep passes. Seven have fallen incomplete, including five intended for Worthy. The other was intercepted by Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard.
The Chiefs traded up (with the Bills) in the first round of the 2024 draft to pick Worthy believing he could revitalize their deep-passing attack. A three-year starter at Texas, Worthy ran the 40-yard dash in a record-setting 4.21 seconds at the NFL combine. Reid and general manager Brett Veach envisioned Worthy outrunning a one-on-one defender for a deep pass with the defense also having to account for tight end Travis Kelce and receivers Rashee Rice and Marquise Brown. The Chiefs practiced those plays over and over and over during training camp.
“Right now, I feel like it’s just a little bit of thinking going through my head,” Worthy said a couple of weeks ago. “I’m still trying to figure things out.”
Similar to just about every aspect of the Chiefs offense this season, Worthy’s role has been altered because Brown (shoulder surgery) hasn’t played a snap and Rice (knee surgery) has been out since Week 4.
In essence, all of the burden for the Chiefs’ deep passing attack has been placed on Worthy.
“As a rookie, you don’t really see a lot until you actually play in the games,” Worthy said. “Every game, I feel like I’m seeing more and more (coverages) and I’m getting comfortable with what’s thrown at me.”
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The Mahomes-Worthy misconnections began in Week 7 against the San Francisco 49ers. The Chiefs’ opening play after halftime failed: Mahomes missed Worthy, who was wide open on a slick post route, for a potential 71-yard touchdown. Two plays later, Worthy stumbled and fell while running a corner route against man coverage. Mahomes threw the ball as Worthy fell and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir intercepted the pass.
“For Xavier being one of the fastest guys in the league, running at that much speed and having to stop on the sideline, not a lot of people can do that,” veteran receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said. “For him, it’s just working at it every single day. As a young guy, I’ve had those moments, where you can’t really see where the sideline is at when the ball is in the air.
“I’m not worried about him at all. He’s a guy that’s going to correct it. He’s a guy that takes accountability, too. He needs to work on that. He’s always looking to get better and move forward. He’s not a guy who knows it all. He’s a sponge.”
MAHOMES TO WORTHY FOR A 54-YARD TD.
📺: #KCvsLAC on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/ZAYGWXNr1V— NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2024
Earlier this month in a win against Tampa Bay, Worthy noticed the Buccaneers’ Cover 2 early in the game, adjusting his route alongside the sideline, giving Mahomes a bigger throwing window for a potential 33-yard touchdown. The mistake was that Worthy fully turned his body toward the ball and caught the pass while his right foot was out of bounds. The Chiefs failed to score on the drive.
The next week, in a win over the Denver Broncos, the offensive line gave Mahomes a clean pocket — a rarity that day — while Worthy was wide open against man coverage from cornerback Riley Moss for a potential 51-yard touchdown. Mahomes, though, missed Worthy and the field. His deep pass landed out of bounds.
“As the season has gone on, he’s playing faster,” Mahomes said Wednesday of Worthy. “He has more confidence. It’s about me being on the same page as him. We can practice it all we want, but until we start doing it in the game, there’s not much more I can say about it.”
Sunday’s game against the Bills was a perfect example for Mahomes. Before the deep incompletion, Worthy sprinted past safety Taylor Rapp. Mahones acknowledged he should’ve thrown his pass more toward the numbers on the field than the sideline. One issue, though, was that Mahomes couldn’t use proper footwork on the pass as he faced pressure from defensive end A.J. Epenesa (57 in the NFL Pro screenshot below).
“There’s little things here and there,” Reid said Wednesday. “It could be (Mahomes), it could be him not being able to see (Worthy from) where he is (in the pocket), or the way the defense is playing or possible pressure. It’s been a variety of things.”
“It will happen. It’ll click.”
Reid said that because he felt the rest of Worthy’s performance against the Bills was positive, an encouraging sign of his progress.
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Reid and Nagy designed the Chiefs’ first offensive snap for Worthy, who gained 7 yards on a nifty end-around. Worthy finished the game with 61 receiving yards on four receptions, including a 10-yard touchdown. But the Chiefs scored just 7 points after halftime as Mahomes didn’t target Worthy.
“You can tell he has more confidence in himself and what he can do within the offense,” Mahomes said of Worthy. “Whenever he’s playing confident, and not thinking, he’s playing fast and it’s hard for people to account for how fast he is. I’m excited for him. I thought that was a good jumping-off point. We’ve got to keep him more involved in the offense throughout the second half.”
WORTHY SPEEDS IN 🏃♂️ @XavierWorthy pic.twitter.com/l2TicCUNkY
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) November 17, 2024
Mahomes said he also believes his deep passes to Worthy will start to connect. The sooner the better.
“Once it starts happening,” Mahomes said, “the offense is really going to take off.”
Injury update: Running back Isiah Pacheco (broken fibula) and defensive end Charles Omenihu (torn ACL) were limited participants in Wednesday’s practice. Their status for Sunday’s game will be determined later in the week.
(Top photo: Denny Medley / Imagn Images)
