In Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season, Chiefs rookie receiver Xavier Worthy scored a 21-yard rushing touchdown. Once he crossed the goal line, Worthy spiked the ball and hit a celebratory dance in front of the fans. Following the electric play, eagle-eyed viewers noticed quarterback Patrick Mahomes rush to the official for the football and gave it back to Worthy.
What could have been written off as a nice gesture is actually something that Mahomes does for all his teammates.
Today, a montage of Mahomes’ leadership in action went trending.
Besides Worthy’s TD, the other players included in the video were WR Rashee Rice, running back Isiah Pacheco and lineman Nick Allegretti.
In Week 1 of the 2023 season, Mahomes connected with Rice on his first career reception and first TD as a pro. Rice finished his rookie campaign with 938 receiving yards and seven TDS.
Then in Week 1 of the 2022 season, Pacheco punched in a three-yard TD against the Arizona Cardinals. Pacheco later became the Chiefs’ main back and he rushed for 830 yards and five TDS in his rookie season.
A “big guy” TD is always special. In a 2022 playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Allegretti lined up as an eligible receiver and was the prime target for the TD – the first in his NFL career.
It’s a funny sequence of events – the players getting caught up in the moment and celebrating while Mahomes is chasing down officials and scooping up the football so that his teammates have their personal memorabilia.
Fans and media tend to get caught up in the side-arm throws and scrambling that Mahomes’ leadership has gone unnoticed. Even with the Chiefs starting 3-0 this season, Mahomes has gone on record of not being pleased with being undefeated.
“We haven’t played good in all three games. We’ve been able to win. That speaks to the character of the team – the grit – how we’ve been in these situationship before,” Mahomes said in the Week 3 post-game press conference.
“I haven’t played very well…It’s about me getting back to my fundamentals. Putting our guys in the right position. And we got to execute at a higher level offensively if teams are going to make us drive the field.”
Mahomes and the Chiefs’ journey to a three-peat continues on Sep. 29 when they face their division rival, the Los Angeles Chargers.