The Kansas City Chiefs are 3-0 after beating the Miami Dolphins 24-10 Sunday, and Patrick Mahomes made it clear one element of their revamped offense is having a bigger impact than stats show.
When it comes to play-action plays, ESPN’s Nate Taylor reported Mahomes completed all 14 of those attempts for 201 yards and a touchdown against Miami. According to ESPN Research, he tied Russell Wilson’s 2020 mark for the most play-action completions without an incompletion over the past 20 seasons.
Mahomes discussed how those plays are helping the Chiefs and sent a strong message to those misunderstanding the full picture.
“It’s helping out a ton,” Mahomes said. “I think people look at the stats and they see the touchdowns that Kenneth has and [rookie running back Emmett Johnson] when they’re running the ball.
“But I don’t think they really understand how the play-action and the movements [within the pocket] is really opened up in our offense. That’s a credit to [the running backs] and the offensive line firing off the ball, run and pass. I thought we did a great job with that.”
Mahomes finished 20-of-24 for 246 yards, two touchdowns and one interception as Kansas City stayed unbeaten. Kenneth Walker III added a rushing touchdown and a receiving score, moving to an NFL-leading 360 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the season.
The play-action production marks a change from 2025, when Kansas City ranked 20th with 977 passing yards on 178 play-action snaps last season, according to ESPN Research, while allowing nine sacks and scoring only three touchdowns.
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Through three games, Mahomes has 329 passing yards, four touchdowns, and one interception on play-action attempts. He hasn’t taken a sack on 38 such snaps, according to TruMedia.
“We’re running the ball so well that defenses have to change how they play against us,” Mahomes said. “We have to continue to do that, continue to run the ball and play-action off of that and keep defenses honest.”
Kansas City visits the 3-0 Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, with kickoff scheduled for 3:25 p.m. ET.
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