KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One week after Patrick Mahomes went down on the ground in Denver with a dislocated knee cap, the Chiefs continued proceeding with mystery shrouding whether their MVP or backup Matt Moore will start against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium.
Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy on Thursday said Mahomes and Moore are getting reps in practice, but he declined to go into deep detail about how Mahomes looked on the field.
“Pat looked like Pat,” Bieniemy said. “Excited and happy.”
Mahomes again ran through stretching and individual drills during the portion of practice open to the media. The club listed Mahomes as a limited participant. But Bieniemy says the “super competitive” nature of Mahomes is manifesting itself during his rehab work.
“Pat is doing a hell of a job taking care of business in the classroom and doing whatever he needs to do with our training staff,” Bieniemy said.
If Mahomes can’t play Sunday night, the Chiefs will turn to Matt Moore, a quarterback who joined the team just under two months ago. But Bieniemy’s history with Moore goes back to 2003 season at UCLA. Bieniemy joined the staff that season as running backs coach while Moore started four games at quarterback for the Bruins before transferring.
“Matt is very sharp,” Bieniemy said. “He has a way of commanding the offense. I know he’s excited about just the opportunity that’s been presented to him.”
Bieniemy doesn’t believe the Chiefs need to change their game plan drastically to accommodate Moore’s inclusion in the lineup.
“I think we do what we do,” Bieniemy said. “Offensively, we’re going to run the ball. We’re going to throw it around a little bit. We’re going to go out and play as hard and as fast as we can.”
When asked if Moore was preparing this week as the starter, Bieniemy deferred to head coach Andy Reid.
“I’ll have coach clear that up with you guys tomorrow,” he said. ”My name is Eric Bieniemy, the offensive coordinator. Andy Reid is head coach. So he has 51 percent. I’m sure he’ll clear everything up.”
