Mahomes Creates Conundrum for Defenses

by John Unrein

Patrick Mahomes has established a new NFL record by throwing 13 touchdown passes through the first three games of this season. This eclipses the likes of Peyton Manning who had thrown 12 touchdown passes previously in 2013 through three games. Mahomes’ arm talent and his ability to throw seam passes are key reasons for his early success. The Chiefs quarterback has previously appeared on NFL Total Access showing off his cannon of a right arm. He successfully threw the football sixty-two miles per hour on television being clocked by a radar gun. It came on his third and final throw while competing against former NFL quarterback David Carr. Sixty-two miles per hour may sound like the average speed of a fastball thrown by ten-year-old in pee-wee baseball. However, the official dimensions of an NFL football are eleven inches in length and twenty-two inches in circumference, so this is no easy throw. Another separating factor in talent since Mahomes entered the league is his ability to read and throw the seam pass. Just like the seam on a pair of pants, the figurative seam in football is a straight vertical line down the field that requires a defense to gain depth quickly to defend. This route may be run by a receiver, a tight end, a running back, etc. The Chiefs have had success running seam routes against opponents in three by one sets (trips), two by two sets (quads), and out of empty (five wide receivers) spread formations. This becomes apparent when you go back and look at Mahomes’ first start during week seventeen last year against the Broncos. His first NFL completion went to tight end Demetrius Harris on a seam pass down the right side good for fifty-one yards (thirty through the air). The seam pass by Mahomes showed up week one of this season on long completions to wide receiver Tyreek Hill against the Chargers. The Pittsburgh Steelers were victims of the seam pass in week two as well. Mahomes was successful with this route for touchdown completions to wide receiver Chris Conley and tight end Travis Kelce. Mahomes was at it again last week in the Chiefs win against the 49ers completing a seam route for a touchdown to Demetrius Harris. You must possess tremendous arm strength and accuracy to throw the seam route with success. This is due to a defender (a linebacker, cornerback, or safety) typically diagnosing the route and flipping his hips to run with the receiver in tight proximity. This usually leaves a small window for a completion. A quarterback throws a seam route with little or minimal arc. It’s different than a fade or go route where air is typically put under the ball to give the receiver a chance to run underneath the ball in beating the defender. One could argue that the seam route is a true definer of arm talent for a quarterback. The fifteen yard out route to a receiver thrown by a quarterback from the far hash is the one that typically gets the most attention at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis every spring. However, it is hard to simulate the seam route under contested conditions at a workout. The seam route makes defensive coordinators nervous. Commit eight men to the line of scrimmage, and you can typically slow down a running attack by an offense. Bracket a receiver by putting a cornerback and safety on them, and you can remove them from an offensive attack. Blitz with pressure to attack a quarterback standing tall in the pocket and you can disrupt the offense’s timing. Encounter a quarterback who has the arm talent to throw a seam pass and you’re in trouble. He can beat cover two coverage by throwing over the middle linebacker. Get caught in cover three while the offense is running four seam routes, and one receiver will be open. Bring pressure while the quarterback is in shotgun, and the seam route is a quick release pass leaving the defense vulnerable. Mahomes’ ability to throw the seam route is uncanny. It leaves me trying to remember the last quarterback who entered the league with his ability to successfully complete this route. I am still struggling to find a comparison. The NFL will eventually find an answer to Mahomes and the seam route conundrum. Until then, Mahomes will likely keep setting records.