Why Patrick Mahomes’ blunt message for DeAndre Hopkins epitomized Chiefs’ win vs. TB

The ankle had been re-taped for 18 minutes — enough time to shift from a lost season and back toward an undefeated one — when Patrick Mahomes literally hopped and skipped on it as though the injury scare never happened.

Wasn’t the competitive juices, either.

Wasn’t to gain an extra yard, and it wasn’t to extend the life of a play.

Mahomes hopped and skipped toward his Kansas City Chiefs teammate, receiver DeAndre Hopkins, to ensure he arrived in the end zone celebration in time to deliver a message.

“Eat, dawg!” Mahomes shouted and then repeated twice more. “Eat, dawg! Eat, dawg!”

A post-snap message in audio.

A pre-snap message in understanding.

And a long-awaited message from a quarterback who has perhaps never had the guy to receive it.

The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-24 in overtime on Monday Night Football, and there’s more than enough to cover.

Mahomes felt a sharp pain in his ankle on a touchdown pass to Samaje Perine to open the fourth quarter, and he scared not just 75,000 fans in attendance and millions at home, but also himself.

Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles forgot that guy — Mahomes — was the one standing on the other sideline and decided to take his chances with an overtime coin toss rather than a potential game-winning two-point conversion.

But the Monday night plot that should most influence future Sundays? (And Fridays, Saturdays and, uh, Wednesdays?)

It’s Hopkins.

The Chiefs have never supplied Mahomes a wide receiver quite him like him. It’s such a contrast, in fact, that two weeks ago, when they acquired Hopkins from the Titans, I wondered aloud if they’d actually be willing to use the full depth of his skill-set.

Wondered if they’d let Hopkins be himself.

Wondered if they’d let him, well, eat.

They have now. Hopkins caught eight of his nine targets for 86 yards and two touchdowns against the Buccaneers.

The stats, though, tell one story. How he obtained them tells the far more promising one.

The play that led this column — the one that excited Mahomes enough that he’d rush to celebrate with Hopkins — came in a key moment, the game tied with just over 4 minutes to play and the Chiefs facing third-and-goal from the 5.

Mahomes knew before the snap where he was going with the ball, because he saw the only thing he needed to see: one-on-one coverage. Tampa Bay had allotted extra attention to the other end of the field, where the Chiefs had stationed three receivers, including Travis Kelce, in a bunch formation.

On the near side, his left, Mahomes turned and fired a slant to Hopkins.

Touchdown. Hopkins’ second of the game.

Here’s the intriguing thing about it: Bucs cornerback Josh Hayes had actually lined up to take away that very route. He turned his hips to force Hopkins to the outside, yet Hopkins beat him to the inside anyway.

Mahomes didn’t know — couldn’t have known — how Hopkins would break free. He just knew he would.

It’s been a minute since that sentence has read true about any Chiefs wide receiver.

This one arrived just 11 days ago.

“They have a little connection they can do there, depending on the look that they have,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “They were spot on. They have a little freedom on that.”

Mahomes and Hopkins had talked about that play throughout the week — and how to respond to specific defensive looks.

Next on this list? The one they didn’t talk about.

The longest play of the night from either team concluded with a 35-yard connection to Hopkins. It began with him running the wrong route. After setting up shop over the middle, Hopkins noticed his quarterback scrambling, so he took off toward the end zone. Three defenders went with him.

Mahomes threw it anyway.

Surrounded by the congestion, Hopkins caught it anyway.

It’s a highlight-reel play with the undercurrent of a telling development. That reception marked just the second time all season a Chiefs receiver has made a contested catch. He’d later make another, too.

Think about that. The Chiefs had one contested catch in seven weeks. Hopkins had two in one night.

But this isn’t just a DeAndre Hopkins development. It’s a Patrick Mahomes development, because this receiver — and that throw — require that the quarterback think a little differently.

Mahomes is the least aggressive passing quarterback in the NFL. He’s been among the three least aggressive passers in the league in every year of his career, but this season he’s thrown into fewer tight windows than ever before.

That’s the essence of the intrigue with this mid-season addition of Hopkins: Would Mahomes change? Hopkins catches passes in tight windows. Would Mahomes offer him the chance to do so?

The answer, in one statistic: Mahomes’ 35-yard pass to Hopkins had a 12.3% chance of being completed, per Next Gen Stats — making it the most improbable completion Mahomes has thrown since 2018.

His rookie year.

Why’d he take the chance?

“To have a guy who can go up and make that catch in a crowd of defenders, it’s a special type of player,” Mahomes said.

A different type of player.

A different mindset because of it.

Mahomes said he intended to put less air under the pass, but he was hit as he fired, making the ball float a bit. The type of pass isn’t the important thing here, though. It’s his willingness to even think to throw it.

Same as his willingness to look toward one side of the field on a goal-to-go play and determine that’s where he’d throw a pass before even seeing if his wide receiver was open.

Those two plays have a commonality, a one-word designation that we can already use to describe an 11-day-old relationship.

Trust.