The hit that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes took near the sideline late in the fourth quarter of KC’s 29-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 13 was a topic of conversation for former NFL QB Tom Brady on the December 4 episode of his “Let’s Go!” podcast.
But instead of discussing whether a penalty should have been called on the play, Brady aimed at Mahomes for not protecting himself. “There was a hit on Patrick Mahomes last night where he was running out of bounds where he wasn’t even out of bounds,” Brady explained to host Jim Gray along with guest and Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor. “Quarterbacks need to learn how to throw the ball away. They need to learn how to read defenses and get the ball out of their hands. I always felt that my best protection was getting rid of the ball.” The topic came up because Brady and Taylor were discussing rule changes in the NFL. Brady was explaining that quarterbacks are too protected and it’s leading to disadvantageous situations for defenders when a QB is running. Taylor didn’t let Brady off the hook, however, as he went on to note that Brady benefitted from the rule changes.
“Tommy over there, you have benefited from some of the rules,” Taylor said to Brady. “You are not going to tell me from the hardcore era that we played in. You benefit from the rules!” After the Chiefs-Packers game, PFWA pool reporter Calvin Watkins spoke with head referee Brad Allen, who explained why they decided to flag Green Bay for unnecessary roughness on that fourth-quarter play even though Mahomes was inbounds when the hit was administered. “The covering official believed that the defender made late and unnecessary contact on the quarterback. So that was the call for unnecessary roughness.” When asked if there was a conversation amongst the officials to determine if a flag needed to be thrown on that play, Allen said, “Internal conversations happen on every play and the covering official was certain that the call had been made correctly.”
