Patrick Mahomes’ pass helped Chiefs seal win. Andy Reid liked this part most
Skyy Moore smiled wide in a muggy and cramped Chiefs locker room, ready to review video of his final catch from Sunday’s 17-9 Chiefs win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
A few minutes earlier, the Chiefs’ second-year receiver had found an opening downfield, giving quarterback Patrick Mahomes an option on a critical third-and-6 that resulted in a 54-yard gain.
“It kind of turned into a scramble drill, and I got greedy,” Moore said with a grin. “Pat saw me running across the field and hit me and kind of iced the game.”
While watching a replay of the TV broadcast on an iPhone, Moore couldn’t get a second look at the entirety of his route after he ran off the screen.
He remembered it, though. His assignment was a backside “dagger” — coming back across the middle from the left side — when something unexpected happened halfway through:
The defender behind him — Jaguars cornerback Darious Williams — fell after trying to undercut Moore’s route.
“Once I broke, he tripped over my leg or something. I think he fell — I’m not sure,” Moore said. “But that’s when I separated.”
The wide-angle video confirmed Moore’s intuition. Williams lost his balance and eventually fell right at the Jaguars’ midfield logo.
Don't think the broadcast showed it, but the defender fell down on that big Skyy Moore play at the end of the game. pic.twitter.com/QWgMEBjg19
— Shaun Newkirk (Soros funded blue checkmark) (@Shauncore) September 18, 2023
It remained a difficult read and play for Mahomes, who later explained what he saw from Jacksonville’s man coverage.
His first read was to tight end Travis Kelce, but the Jaguars double-covered him. Mahomes’ eyes then moved to receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who also made a defender fall; the Chiefs QB nearly threw the ball to him before seeing a deep safety break toward Valdes-Scantling in a hurry.
“They did a good job covering,” Mahomes said of Jacksonville.
Eliminating the first two reads wasn’t enough to stop Mahomes, though, as the QB scrambled to his right before halting quickly to evade pressure from linebacker Foye Oluokun.
At that point, Mahomes said he saw Moore “wide open,” crediting him with the rest.
“He made a great play after the catch, getting downfield, staying inbounds, keep the clock rolling,” Mahomes said. “He had a big game today, man, and I was happy for him. I think he’ll continue to build, as well as those other receivers. I thought there was a lot of positives with them.”
After reviewing the third-and-6 play in his postgame study, coach Andy Reid said his biggest takeaway was Moore’s effort to get open.
“Skyy was headed in that direction anyways — that was part of the route. But he could have easily pulled off, and he didn’t,” Reid said. “He fought like crazy to get himself in position there.”
It was part of a resilient overall effort from Moore, who struggled in the team’s opener.
After a strong training camp, the 2022 second-round pick had no catches in the Chiefs’ previous 21-20 home loss to the Detroit Lions. That included three passes Moore could not secure after the ball touched his fingertips.
Moore admitted he was critical of himself when reviewing the Lions game and seeing what he could’ve done. He said if he wants to become the player he strives to be, those are catches he has to make.
“You try not to beat yourself up about it, but you can’t really help it,” Moore said. “But especially knowing I had my hands on a few balls I could have caught.”
Moore responded with a strong Week 2. He had three catches for 70 yards with a touchdown against the Jaguars. And his 9-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter — coming on a back-shoulder throw from Mahomes — was the first regular-season score of his career.
“Quietly, Skyy had a really good football game,” Reid said. “He had some great plays, and you saw the trust that Patrick has in him on the touchdown. You saw the trust he had in him on that (third-and-6) play to go find him, and for Skyy to get into the vision there.”
Moore had an extended celebration following his 54-yard reception, saying he understood how important that catch was for the team.
After a long 10 days — and many second thoughts — Moore also felt like his focus in practice had been rewarded.
“Just getting back to the basics, feeling like I was in a slump,” Moore said. “I treated this as a bounce-back week, for sure.”