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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The instinct and trust between Patrick Mahomes and new Chiefs receiver DeAndre Hopkins was already on display in Monday night’s 30-24 overtime win against the Bucs.
Just 11 days after Kansas City sent a conditional fifth-round pick to the Titans for the 32-year-old as an answer to a slew of injuries, the Chiefs saw a promising connection that led to two touchdowns that helped keep them undefeated on the season.
“Those two, you talk about being on the same page, they were on the same page,” coach Andy Reid said after Hopkins’ eight catches for 86 yards.
Twice, Mahomes found Hopkins matched up against second-year Bucs corner Josh Hayes, a special-teams player pressed into every-down duty by multiple injuries at the position. The first gave the Chiefs a 10-7 lead in the second quarter, and the second gave them the lead with less than five minutes left.
“He’s so good at winning 1-on-1,” Mahomes said after the game. “To be able to have him down in the red zone, third-down situations, he does a good job of filling out and finding those windows, kind of like Travis [Kelce] does. I think as he figures out the whole entire offense, he’ll get even better. … You give him a chance down the field, and he makes a play and goes from a play where it might have been a bad decision to a big-time catch.”
Hopkins’ first touchdown was set up by just such a throw. In the second quarter, Mahomes was flushed up in the pocket and looked upfield to see Hopkins down the middle but well-covered. He threw the pass despite three Bucs defenders converging, but Hopkins came down with the ball for a 35-yard gain.
Hopkins credits his quick rapport with Mahomes to the time they’ve spent together in less than two weeks as teammates.
“Communication, talking throughout practice, talking in the locker room, just communicating every day about the looks that we see and me just picking his brain, asking him what he likes,” Hopkins said. “When I’m not out there taking the rep, I’m…
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Publish date : 2024-11-05 14:12:50
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