The story of Patrick Mahomes’ ‘Rolex’ audible ... and why it went for a touchdown
The call is “Rolex,” and Patrick Mahomes had been waiting weeks to bark it out at the line of scrimmage.
You knew the first part already, because inside an mostly empty Arrowhead Stadium, the word echoed on the TV broadcast moments before Mahomes hit Tyreek Hill on a fly pattern for 41-yard touchdown pass in the Chiefs’ 35-9 win Sunday against the Jets.
But here’s why you heard it.
And why it worked.
The play arrived in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t the play that was supposed to arrive. Not originally. On third-and-5, Chiefs coach Andy Reid had called a different pass play, and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy relayed it into Mahomes’ headset.
The switch came from Mahomes.
He lined up in shotgun formation with running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire at his left hip, Hill wide left beyond the numbers and three potential route-runners on his right, including tight end Travis Kelce. As Mahomes made his first motion of demanding the hike, Jets safety Marcus Maye inched toward the line of scrimmage to imitate a blitz. That left safety Ashtyn Davis as the only defender deeper than five yards, and Davis shifted ever so slightly to cover the right side of the Chiefs’ formation, where they had more numbers.
Go time.
For weeks, Mahomes had been looking for a time to make the audible. It would work best against a blitz. Against a single safety. So he turned to his right and yelled the word. “Rolex! Rolex!” With another code, he then instructed Kelce to stay in and help protect against the potential blitz, and Kelce obliged. Then one last turn to his left to the man who really needed the call — Hill. “Rolex! Rolex!”
Mahomes he had what he wanted — a Tyreek Hill foot race — so while two other receivers went out for a route, Mahomes had only one destination in mind.
Hill cut left out of his stance, then outran cornerback Bless Austin down the sideline. Mahomes kept his eyes over the middle of the field initially, which held Davis — the lone safety, remember — up the middle for just long enough. When Hill turned his head, the ball arrived in his arms inside the 10-yard line. Baited by Mahomes’ eyes after the snap, Davis got there a tad late. Hill ran the rest of the way for a touchdown.
It was the fifth score for Mahomes, but it was the one he made a point to mention.
“My favorite was probably the last one because I kind of got to check to it,” Mahomes said. “And we’ve been working on that check for a while and finally got the look that we liked. And we were able to check and make the play happen.”
On a day in which he eclipsed season bests with 416 yards and the five touchdowns, Reid commended Mahomes’ decision-making as much as any particular throw. He had called several run-pass options, and Mahomes seemed to make the right decision every time.
But of all the examples to support his compliment, Reid used just one.
Rolex.
“He had complete command of everything going on,” Reid said. “Including the check at the end when they were in a blitz look and he hit Tyreek on a big touchdown.”
This story was originally published November 4, 2020 at 1:53 PM with the headline "The story of Patrick Mahomes’ ‘Rolex’ audible ... and why it went for a touchdown."