The wide receivers for the Kansas City Chiefs are nicknamed "The Legion of Zoom" for a reason, so quarterback Patrick Mahomes usually allows for their speed when throwing a deep pass to Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson or Sammy Watkins.
And that's just what Mahomes did on his 54-yard touchdown pass to Hill during Sunday's 23-20 overtime win over the host Los Angeles Chargers.
"That was a spectacular throw, and for [Hill] to make that grab, that was a great catch," Reid said. "Those two have a special connection between them. We keep seeing it week after week, year after year here. It's time-tested."
Mahomes needed every bit of his arm strength to get the ball to Hill. According to NFL NextGen Stats, Mahomes was running to his right at a speed of 11.2 mph when he released the ball and threw the ball 52.9 yards in the air. It's only the third touchdown pass over the past four seasons in which a quarterback threw the ball 50-plus yards of air distance while running 10-plus mph. Chiefs coach Andy Reid said no other quarterback could have made the throwing while rolling out as Mahomes was.
"The best thing with these guys, when you have Tyreek, Mecole, D-Rob and Sammy, is if I throw it further than the defenders, they're going to get there." Mahomes said. "It was a good throw, but he made a heck of a catch, running over his should like that with the angle the ball was coming."
Hill had to go to the ground to make the catch. But he popped back to his feet quickly, before Chargers defenders had a chance to get to him. He then made his way into the end zone. He said there aren't many quarterbacks anywhere who can make a throw like that.
"Pat -- I feel like -- is in a lane of his own," Hill said. "Pat [and] probably Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson [could make that throw]. With me being fast and Pat having the arm strength and the accuracy, just to trust you to even throw that is just amazing to me.
"He kind of overthrew me because I had to lean forward for it a little bit. But it was a good ball, though."