Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ most impressive play from his first professional preseason game was not an out-of-the-pocket touchdown pass to his third read, or a 25-yard fastball between two defenders, or a completion downfield while being pushed back by a 275-pound defensive lineman.
It was an incompletion.
Because if everything you’ve been told about the Chiefs’ rookie quarterback was true, it would’ve been an interception, and probably a pick-six. It would’ve spoiled an otherwise encouraging first step, and painted him as behind. It would’ve almost certainly kept him third on the depth chart, behind starter Alex Smith and Tyler Bray.