It’s been a few days since Trevor Lawrence received a dirty shot from Houston Texans linebacker Azee Al-Shaair.
It was a hit we rarely see anymore in the NFL, with the league’s firm stance on protecting the quarterback, but some fans have blamed Patrick Mahomes.
It first started when Tom Brady joined Colin Cowherd to discuss the hit. Throughout the discussion, Brady hinted that Lawrence deserved some blame for the hit.
“If we don’t want these hits to take place, we’ve got to penalize both the offense and the defense,” Brady said about quarterbacks sliding too late.
.@TomBrady discusses late hit on Trevor Lawrence:
“If we don’t want these hits to take place, we’ve got to penalize both the offense and the defense.” pic.twitter.com/fnmCJ7oZwj
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) December 3, 2024
However, many fans think that Mahomes, who has mastered the art of the fake slide or pretending to go out of bounds before picking up a few extra yards, is to blame, and that’s why defenders feel the need to still go in for the big hit.
“I see QBs tiptoe down the sideline and get calls” he’s talking about mahomes,” said another.
“This new NFL is designed for scoring and not defense defenders are playing with one hand behind their back Patrick Mahomes he acts like he’s about run out of bounds all the time and tiptoes on the sideline but he he get popped it’s a flag smh let’s get back to real football 🏈,” a third added.
“First I don’t think the suspension was warranted, I f he had intended to harm the QB that is one thing but the QB slid late! It’s the Mahomes effect, where he pretends to slide or pretends he is going OB then sprints 20 more yards! The defense has to anticipate that! Bad call!” a fourth pointed out.
There Are Multiple Instances Of Patrick Mahomes Doing This
These aren’t necessarily baseless claims that people are throwing around about Mahomes.
One recently viral video shows Mahomes escaping the pocket against the Lions on a second-and-seven play. After about four yards, he seemingly lets up before running again for the first down.
Another video shows Mahomes pretending to run out of bounds at the 29-yard line against the 49ers before juking back inside and running it in for a touchdown.
It begs whether the league needs to step in and try to fix this problem, which is too big to ignore.
