One of the scariest moments during quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ tenure with the Chiefs was when he injured his knee on a quarterback sneak in October of 2019.
Kansas City’s coaching staff has not called a QB sneak since then. That has frustrated some fans, as they feel that Mahomes’ solid 6-foot-2, 225-pound frame would make him very effective running the play. However, the Chiefs simply do not believe the risk is worth the reward.
Having success in short-yardage situations is critical to an NFL offense. While speaking to the media on Tuesday, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy was asked if the QB sneak could ever be on the table for Mahomes again moving forward.
“That’s (short-yardage situations) a critical part of the game that you got to be great at,” Nagy said. “We’re hard on ourselves when we don’t do it well. We know that the quarterback sneak in this game for a lot of teams is very important, and they live by it. You have the ‘Tush Push’ that everybody does, or several teams do.
“Obviously, we don’t live in that world, but schematically we feel like we have our own ways of getting to that quarterback sneak, even if it’s not that play. But then there also is maybe the element of surprise when that does come. You never know, right? I think that’s kind of an advantage to us. But it is for us to also know there are different ways to be successful. Whether it’s running the football or throwing it. That’s where I think a lot of credit to coach Reid, and coach Heck (offensive line coach Andy Heck) in the run game with that part of it.”
The Philadelphia Eagles have led the way in perfecting the QB sneak so much that it now basically goes by the “Tush Push” — though the two plays aren’t completely the same. The Chiefs were among the teams that voted for the “Tush Push” to be eliminated this past spring.
If the Chiefs are ever going to let Mahomes execute a QB sneak again, it will likely have to be in a crucial situation during a high profile game. We know that K.C. likes to be creative in short-yardage situations, both running and passing the ball. Hopefully the Chiefs’ offensive line and running back room are improved enough in 2025 that they can line up and get a good push with traditional run plays.
