Patrick Mahomes Turns 30 Today: Breaking Down Three Plays Only He Could Pull Off

Last Sunday, Patrick Mahomes suited up for the last time as the Chiefs‘ starting quarterback in his 20s. He turns 30 today. And if you ask him about hitting that milestone, he’ll probably bring up music before football.

“So, I’m having to have guys that are younger than me introduce me to new rappers,” he once joked. “And I’m like, ‘That makes me the old guy.’ Like Alex Smith, I was doing that to Alex Smith.”

Sure, he’s starting to feel the gap between himself and the younger teammates in the locker room. But if we’re being real, “aged” in Mahomes’ case just means he’s one of the older starting QBs now.

The first two games of the season weren’t the start he wanted, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s already the most accomplished QB in the league. Three Super Bowl rings sit on his résumé, while the “big three” challengers: Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow, are still chasing their first.

And if you zoom out, the list of quarterbacks who even have a Super Bowl ring right now in the 2025 season is surprisingly short: Jalen Hurts, Matthew Stafford, Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco, Aaron Rodgers… and then Mahomes, who has three.

Except for Mahomes and Hurts, the rest of them are already approaching the twilight of their career. That said, we’ve covered what he shares with the rest of the league as a tribute to his 30th.

Now, it’s time to flip it, because there are certain plays on the NFL field that only Mahomes can make. Three of them, in fact. And that’s where the conversation really begins.

3. Patrick Mahomes is an elite with his left hand as well

The Chiefs’ running back, Kareen Hunt, said this back in 2018:

“I thought, ‘Is he a magician or something?”

His shock was palpable. Hunt had seen Mahomes doing magic with his right hand for many games, but back in 2018, against the Denver Broncos, Mahomes made one of the most memorable plays of the game. Not with his right hand, though. With his left hand. It was late in the fourth quarter with just 3:15 remaining before the final whistle.

The 30-year-old quarterback scrambled to his left on third-and-5 at the Chiefs’ own 45. But rather than tossing it to Tyreek Hill, he switched the ball in his hand (Broncos’ Von Miller was threatening him), and lofted it to his wideout, the Cheetah, for a 6-yard gain. It was the first down.

“He actually throws better than me and I’m left handed,” Hill said after the game. “It was a good throw. It was a good toss. Pat, I don’t even know what to say, man. Pat just does a great job of looking down the field, trusting us to stay alive and stuff like that.”

It wasn’t the first time for Mahomes. He did it in college. He now does it often in practice when the QBs engage in competitions.

“I did it a couple of times in college, but it was to throw it away,” he said at that time after finishing the game with 28 of 45 for 304 yards and one TD.

“I never had thrown it to a receiver. So it was a cool deal, got the first down and got the win.”

Well, that was just the beginning of Mahomes showing up as the league’s surprise package. Back then, nobody really knew the Chiefs’ QB had that much in his bag. A couple of months later, after his famous left-hand throw, he came back with another showstopper.

2. Patrick Mahomes can look at one way, but throw on the other

A team’s head coach or maybe the offensive coordinator probably won’t allow his quarterback a no-look pass across his body against the NFL’s best defense. But Andy Reid wasn’t that kind of HC. Against the Broncos, it was Mahomes the Magician.

A couple of months later versus the Ravens? Mahomes the Wizard. Mahomes’ no-look pass came in a 27-24 win over the Ravens.

It was late in the second quarter, Demarcus Robinson was open in the field, Mahomes first looked to the middle of the field, but then threw to his left to Robinson for a 17-yard gain. Sure, it was just a 17-yarder, but try looking right, then firing back across your body with perfect zip while the league’s best defense is crashing down on you.

Impossible for anyone… anyone not named Patrick Mahomes. Which naturally raises a question: How did the Chiefs’ QB come up with this pass?

It started decently in his college days. He was at Texas Tech, fooling around like any other college kid, and found himself competing against one of the backup QBs. That’s when he found out that he was good at looking one way and throwing the ball to a receiver the other way.

“I realized it was actually a tool I can use in games,” he said.

His no-look pass to Robinson became a turning point of the game, as the Chiefs moved to midfield with just less than two minutes remaining in the first half. The Chiefs finished the first half with a field goal.

“I was looking and I saw [Robinson] about to come open, and I needed to move the safety over to the right,” Mahomes noted after the game.”I just kind of trusted [Robinson] was going to be there, and I put it out there and he made a great play on it.”

And if you ask Andy Reid, he was as shocked as any other football fan.

“It’s one thing to do it in practice, and then you start throwing it in a game, and a game against the No. 1 defense in the National Football League, that’s a little different,” the head coach said.

Mahomes threw for 377 yards and two scores and secured a playoff berth with a decisive win over the Ravens.

1. The making behind the Chiefs’ QB’s ‘Jet Chip Wasp’

Before we dive deep into Patrick Mahomes’ one of the best plays so far, we have to understand the terminology first. It’s called the ‘Jet Chip Wasp.’

• Jet: That’s the formation or motion. It’s about lining up guys in a way that forces the defense to move and think before the snap.
• Chip: That’s protection. A running back or a tight end throws a quick bump on a pass rusher before running a route, just to give the quarterback extra heartbeat in the pocket.
• Wasp: That’s the deep route, the soul of the play in a wideout’s hands and feet. It starts one way, then bends and breaks to stretch the defense vertically.

The Chiefs did it back in Super Bowl 54 against the 49ers, and undoubtedly, it was one of the reasons why the Chiefs hoisted their first Lombardi with Mahomes under the center. Again, it was the fourth quarter.

The Chiefs were trailing 20-10 with just 7:14 remaining on the clock. Mahomes had a job to do, and he sure did. On third-and-15, he threw a miraculous pass to Tyreek Hill, as the wideout ran a perfect route for a 44-yarder. And it was all Mahomes’ idea to pull back the Chiefs in the game.

The NFL Films released a video after the game, in which the QB was spotted having a chat with the then-offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy. Mahomes wanted ‘Wasp’.

“Crazy thing is, Patrick called it. He asked it, and Andy called it,” Chiefs then-quarterbacks coach Mike Kafka, said. Have a look at Mahomes and OC’s conversation.

Mahomes: “What we thinking?”

[Bieniemy nods his head in thought while looking at his play sheet]

Mahomes: “Do we have time to run Wasp?”

Bieniemy: “You like Wasp?” [Into his headset] “He’s asking for Wasp.”

Bieniemy: “What down and distance do you like it?”

Mahomes: “If it’s first-and-10, Wasp, or I’ll run it at any down and distance, I don’t care.”

After the game, Reid addressed the Jet Chip Wasp, noting, “We call it ‘Wasp.’ Literally put the stinger on ’em.'” And they sure did.

After Mahomes threw a 44-yarder to his wideout, the play worked perfectly. The QB then threw a touchdown pass to Travis Kelce on the same drive, which was the first of three fourth-quarter touchdowns that helped the Chiefs to pull off a huge 31-20 comeback win in the Super Bowl.

And that’s why Patrick Mahomes, “Jet Chip Wasp,” tops our list.