“Good Luck Predicting a Slide”: Veteran NFL QB Cites Patrick Mahomes as Example, Taking Defense’s Side After Brutal Hit on Trevor Lawrence

Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair is currently one of the most controversial figures in the NFL, having delivered a dirty hit on Trevor Lawrence that resulted in a concussion for the Jaguars QB. The hit was unexpected after Lawrence had slid on the ground to avoid contact, but Al-Shaair used his elbow to strike him on the head anyway.

Despite this, former NFL QB Kurt Benkert has chosen to take a lonely stance by defending Azeez, and NFL defenses as a whole, from the brunt of the criticism.

Amidst the widespread castigation against the linebacker, Kurt took to “X” to point out how tough it is to predict slides in real life. The former Packers QB did so by sharing a clip of Patrick Mahomes performing a fake slide in his encounter against the Lions last year.

Benkert, with the visual evidence, implied that with QBs having the fake slide in their arsenal, predicting when a slide will be executed becomes even harder for the defense. This often results in QBs either getting off scot-free or ending up on the receiving end of heavy contact, as Lawrence did.

While it must be noted that Trevor didn’t attempt a fake slide, Kurt’s point remains valid, as it’s hard to predict an incoming slide with the way the game has evolved in recent years. Add to this the split-second decision-making defenders must make; it’s difficult to place the blame on them when it’s genuinely a very challenging task in real life.

Interestingly enough, fans agreed with Benkert, arguing that stringent rules need to be enforced to prevent fake slides by the playmakers.

NFL fans want fake slides to be penalized, criticize Patrick Mahomes

While Kurt seemingly didn’t post the video as a snide remark on Patrick, for fans, it didn’t matter. They began criticizing Mahomes for being a frequent fake slide offender.

The reactions to the controversial topic of fake slides and safety were unsurprisingly extreme. From hoping for Mahomes to get concussed to noting how the Chiefs star wouldn’t have pulled this off in the early 2000s, NFL fans didn’t hold back punches against the Chiefs star.

Others, meanwhile, urged the league to either ban fake slides or penalize the ones who do it to bring more safety and fairness to the game. A few cited the NCAA’s action by legitimizing the Kenny Pickett rule [outlawing fake slides] as a great way to tackle this problem.

It’s arguably a fair demand by fans to keep fake slides in check. It does seem to provide an advantage to the quarterbacks, as most defenders would choose to pull back from making a heavy tackle like Azeez did.