Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes Under Scrutiny for ‘Ridiculous’ Sideline Scramble vs 49ers

Getty Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

The Kansas City Chiefs offense had the ball with a little over a minute left in the third quarter of KC’s Week 7 game against the San Francisco 49ers. On a 2nd-and-7 play from San Francisco’s 37-yard line, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes dropped back to pass, scrambled to his left, faked out a 49ers defender near the sideline, and proceeded to run up the sideline for a gain of 33 yards.

“How did he do that?!”

Appropriate reaction after this Mahomes 33-yard run 😱

📺: #KCvsSF on FOX
📱: t.co/waVpO8ZBqG

That run by Mahomes set up Kansas City’s offense at San Francisco’s four-yard line. The result of that 13-play, 79-yard drive was a touchdown, and with the successful point after attempt the two-time defending Super Bowl champions took a 21-12 lead with 14:13 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Patrick Mahomes Scrutinized for Sideline Fake

Mahomes, whose 33-yard run was the longest he has ever had during the regular season, drew criticism on social media for taking advantage of how protected quarterbacks are along the sideline by making the San Francisco defender think he was going out of bounds before he sprinted upfield on his 33-yard run.

“Great escape by Mahomes … but he has such an advantage because defenders are afraid to hit him full force as he tightropes the sideline,” sports analyst Skip Bayliss wrote. “It’s almost not fair.”

“I am sorry but you can’t give Mahomes the flags you give him when he is allowed to fake like he is going out of bounds and then keep running,” another person wrote. “This is ridiculous.”

“That play by Patrick Mahomes is why defenders should blow up QBs on every run until they are actually out of bounds and you can’t call defenders for penalties if the QB hasn’t completely gone out of bounds,” another person wrote.

“This play is proof that you can’t touch certain QBs and they know it and will take advantage of it,” another person wrote. “These defenders are terrified that if they try to do anything to Mahomes he’ll be out of bounds and there’s a 15 yard additional penalty. It’s not a healthy part of the game.”

Chiefs Beat 49ers to Remain Undefeated

The Chiefs improved to 6-0 with a win over the 49ers, who fell to 3-3 with the loss.

Kansas City’s offense didn’t do too much through the air in the 28-20 win, but it didn’t need to. Despite Mahomes throwing for just 154 yards and two interceptions, the two-time defending Super Bowl champions rushed for 154 yards and four touchdowns, which helped them win the time of possession (35 minutes to 24 minutes for San Francisco) and get a 28-point win over the 49ers.

Veteran Kareem Hunt led the Chiefs in rush attempts (22), rushing yards (78) and rushing touchdowns (2) against the 49ers. Mahomes and receiver Mecole Hardman score the two other rushing touchdowns. Tight end Noah Gray led Kansas City in receiving with 66 yards on four catches.

As for the Chiefs’ defense, the unit forced three turnovers — all of which were interceptions thrown by quarterback Brock Purdy — and allowed San Francisco to convert on just 2-of-11 third downs. The 49ers’ run game — which was averaging 5.0 yards per carry (YPC) heading into this game — averaged 4.2 YPC against Kansas City.

San Francisco running back Jordan Mason, who was second in the NFL in rushing heading into Week 7 with 609 yards, had 58 yards on 14 carries against the Chiefs, an average of 4.1 YPC.

Devon Clements covers the Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts for Heavy.com. A New England native who has covered the NFL since 2017, his previous bylines include USA Today’s Sports Media Group and Sports Illustrated. More about Devon Clements

Full video: