FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, February 10th, 2020

PATRICK MAHOMES RECAPS SUPER BOWL LIV WITH PETER KING FOR THIS WEEK’S “FMIA” COLUMN; PLUS MORE FROM MIKE FLORIO AND CHRIS SIMMS EXCLUSIVELY ACROSS NBC SPORTS

“I just told him, I don’t care about the [down and distance], I wanna run this play.” – Patrick Mahomes on calling the third-and-15 play to Tyreek Hill in Super Bowl LIV

“Pat Mahomes told me his son called him the night of his pre-draft visit to Kansas City in 2017. Son told father Kansas City was where he wanted to play, and (Andy) Reid was the coach he wanted to play for.” – King on Patrick Mahomes telling his father he wanted to be drafted by the Chiefs

“Owner Shad Khan deciding to play two games in London next year will just re-stoke the fear in the fans of Jacksonville that the franchise will eventually move to England.” – King on the Jaguars

“I’d expect the Saints to tender him with a first-round tag, particularly if Drew Brees retires.” – King on the Saints’ Taysom Hill

STAMFORD, Conn. – Feb. 10, 2020 – Peter King speaks with Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes to recap the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV victory and how Mahomes overcame a rough start in the game in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also chats with Mahomes’ father, former MLB player Pat Mahomes, Kansas City general manager Brett Veach and Chiefs backup quarterback Matt Moore, discusses the best Super Bowl LIV performances among the Chiefs and 49ers, and dives into various offseason topics.

Additionally, across NBC Sports, NFL insider Mike Florio and analyst Chris Simms discuss offseason notes and continue to share interviews from Super Bowl week in Miami on PFT Live and Simms Unbuttoned.

The following are highlights from this week’s edition of Football Morning in America:

PATRICK MAHOMES

Pat Mahomes, Patrick’s father, on teaching his son lessons as a professional athlete: “I wanted him to see the work you had to put in to be a pro. He saw that in clubhouses for years. I’d tell Patrick, ‘It’s always about the next play. It’s always about the next pitch.’”

Mahomes on the impact of his father being a professional baseball player: “The main memory I’ll always have is whenever I’ve watched guys that my dad played with, or Alex Rodriguez or guys like Derek Jeter, and all these guys that were superstars…I watched how hard they worked…When you’re at the top of the game, you have to still keep working in order to stay at the top.”

Mahomes on overcoming failures: “I think it’s just a competitiveness and the way I’ve been raised my whole entire life. I don’t know if it’s from baseball, I don’t know if it’s from basketball or from my time in football. But I’ve always just been taught that you just have to play the next play.”

King on Mahomes’ desire to be drafted by the Chiefs: “Pat Mahomes told me his son called him the night of his pre-draft visit to Kansas City in 2017. Son told father Kansas City was where he wanted to play, and (Andy) Reid was the coach he wanted to play for. He felt Reid would teach him everything he needed to win, and let him have the kind of freedom he’s played with through his high school and college career.”

King on Reid allowing Mahomes to call the Jet Chip Wasp play in the Super Bowl: “If you’re Andy Reid, and the Super Bowl might come down to this play, wouldn’t you feel like, Step aside kid – I got the call here. Just run this. Maybe that’s why the Reid-Mahomes partnership has been gold for the first three years of it, and maybe that’s why they’ve got an NFL MVP and a Super Bowl victory to show for it.”

Mahomes on calling the play: “I just kinda asked. I asked EB [offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy], do you think we have enough time in the pocket to run this long developing play? He asked me if I wanted it on first down, or with down and distance. I just told him, I don’t care about the D&D, I wanna run this play…With that little bit of a break we had, when they were reviewing the catch, we were able to talk through all scenarios.”

Chiefs backup QB Matt Moore on playing for Reid: “What impressed me so much about this opportunity, is here I was, pretty new to the offense, and we’re getting ready for the games, and [Reid] says, ‘You’re the one playing. You gotta be happy with what you’re running, man.’”

Mahomes on changing the play call prior to his second interception in the Super Bowl: “I don’t regret it. I did change the play. I saw they were in a man coverage and so I changed it to one of our man-beaters that we run a lot throughout the season. The mistake I made was, I stayed on the first read just a little too long.”

Chiefs GM Brett Veach on drafting Mahomes: “So often Texas Tech was completely overmatched, but Patrick’s attitude was I don’t give a s— how many stars my wideouts have. You guys will remember us, and you guys will remember me. He was fearless.”

King: “Veach got a surprise from Mahomes last year when Mahomes made his first Pro Bowl – a signed MAHOMES Pro Bowl jersey with the inscription, ‘Thanks for believing in me from the beginning! Let’s go get some rings!’”

KING’S SUPER BOWL LIV THOUGHTS

King on Jimmy Garoppolo: “Stop thinking Garoppolo should be on the block…You’re dumping your quarterback of the future for 10 sucky minutes? Nope.”

King’s best players on the field for the 49ers: “1. DE Nick Bosa; 2. WR Deebo Samuel; 3. DT DeForest Buckner; 4. LT Joe Staley; 5. DE Arik Armstead.”

King’s best players on the field for the Chiefs: “1. DT Chris Jones; 2. RB Damien Williams; 3. RT Mitchell Schwartz; 4. QB Patrick Mahomes; 5. (tie) WR Tyreek Hill; DE Frank Clark.”

King on the officiating in Super Bowl LIV: “Thought it was fine. The OPI on George Kittle that cost the Niners three or seven points late in the first half could have gone either way, but I like the fact it was called.”

OFFSEASON NOTES

King on Taysom Hill: “I’d expect the Saints to tender him with a first-round tag, particularly if Drew Brees retires.”

Saints head coach Sean Payton on The Peter King Podcast: “Yeah, I think someone is going to make him an offer…if we tender Taysom as a one [meaning placing a first-round tag on him]…we might very well see it if it’s a team in the second half of the [first round].”

King on Eric Weddle’s retirement: “Even though Weddle did make six Pro Bowls, I always thought he was under-appreciated. He drilled people like John Lynch, had the instincts of Eric Reid and though he didn’t make the flash plays of a Troy Polamalu, he was always around the football.”

King on Jacksonville playing two games in London in 2020: “Owner Shad Khan deciding to play two games in London next year (and possibly in the future as well) will just re-stoke the fear in the fans of Jacksonville that the franchise will eventually move to England.”

King on Sammy Watkins’ impending free agency: “Watkins is a good teammate and valuable piece of the offense, and my feeling is Andy Reid and GM Brett Veach will try to wedge his deal into the salary cap for one more year. If cut, Watkins would be a fascinating free-agent find for some team.”

King on Philip Rivers: “I think Philip Rivers and Colts seem like a sound marriage.”

Read the rest of the FMIA column here and catch the weekly Peter King Podcast here.

The following are additional highlights of NBC Sports’ Super Bowl LIV coverage:

    • PFT Live: Mike Florio and King react to Peter’s conversation with Patrick Mahomes, Dwayne Haskins’ status in Washington, and draft the best movie-like moments of the 2019 season. Click here for clips.
    • Simms Unbuttoned: Simms interviews Dak Prescott, Frank Gore, Tarik Cohen, and Aaron Jones from Super Bowl week.
    • NBC Sports’ Rotoworld Wins Four Fantasy Sports Writers Association Awards, Including Best Football Podcast by the Rotoworld Football Podcast.

 

A new “Football Morning in America” posts every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com through the NFL season. It was announced in May that King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com; making regular appearances on NBCSN’s and NBC Sports Radio’s PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.

NBC SPORTS