Dropped Passes
Last Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs won the National Football League’s (NFL) SuperBowl for the second consecutive year. 28 year old wunderkind Patrick Mahomes orchestrated the game winning drive in overtime, a victory that earned him a third Superbowl ring, and his second Most Valuable Player Trophy. During an interview after the game, Mahomes said that this triumph was the sweetest because of “all of the adversity that they had to face.”
Anyone who follows the sport of football immediately knew the adversity that he was referring to. For those of you who may not, he was referring to the challenges that the Chiefs faced when Tyrek Hiil, one of their star wide receivers (and considered by many to be the one of the best receivers in the league) was traded to the Miami Dolphins. The Chiefs replaced Hill with a batch of other receivers, none of whom have the skill set, speed, or savvy of Hill.
Unsurpisingly, the Chiefs struggled. By mid-season, most observers concluded that their season was a lost cause. The problem was that the new receivers couldn’t catch the ball. In fact, the Chiefs led the league this year in dropped passes! The problem wasn’t the quarterback: Mahomes is one of the best. The problem wasn’t the defense: most of the drops were made by receivers who were wide open—in fact that’s definition of a dropped pass—a perfectly thrown ball to an undefended or poorly defended receiver that slips through his hands. The problem was the receivers. Yet, despite leading the NFL in dropped passes, the Chiefs still won the Superbowl.
I learned a crucial leadership lesson from Mr. Mahomes this year. After one game that showcased several embarrassing drops, someone asked Mahomes how he felt about his squad of receivers. Along with everyone else, I was expecting for Mahomes to hold them accountable, point out where they needed to improve, and challenge them to do their job. The principal quaesitum of a receiver is to catch the ball—and they get paid extremely well to do it. Hence, I was expecting a speech resembling some version of “come on guys—get it together.” Instead, Mahomes conducted a masterclass on leadership and grace. He said that he had to learn how to “throw the ball better”,—even though everyone knew that it was not his fault and is one of the most accurate quarterbacks in NFL history. I was amazed and impressed by how he shouldered responsibility for a problem that he did not cause. More significantly, despite the fact that his receivers kept on dropping passes throughout the season, Mahomes kept on throwing them the ball. And despite leading the league in dropped passes, the Chiefs still won the Superbowl.
What the Chiefs taught the world this year is that you can win—even if you keep dropping the ball.
“Dropping the pass” or “dropping the ball” is cultural shorthand for missing an opportunity. And this phenomenon just doesn’t occur on football fields. In every field of life, God throws us life changing opportunities, unprecedented blessings, potential breakthroughs—and we miss them. Sometimes we miss these breakthroughs because we are distracted. Other times, we miss these blessings because we are unprepared. And still other times we miss these opportunities because we were paying more attention to the opposition than the opportunity. The truth is that we can’t always blame the Devil because of missed opportunities. I have learned that it usually isn’t his fault. I don’t know about you, but I have dropped many a ball in my life.
There is no greater ball dropper in biblical history than the prophet Jonah. God instructed him to go preach to a group of people to great ancient city called Nineveh. But Jonah didn’t want to go. So he boarded a ship that was traveling in the opposite direction. He dropped the ball. But God was so intent on blessing the city of Nineveh that he sent a storm during which Jonah thrown overboard. Miraculously, God sent a whale to rescue him. Afterwards, Jonah changed his mind, went to Nineveh, and a city was saved. In this incident, the narrator pens one of greatest lines ever written in all of literature. Jonah 3:1 says:
And the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time…
Even though Jonah had dropped the ball, God gave him another chance. Our God is so amazing, that even when we miss opportunities, he doesn’t stop throwing us the ball. And here’s the good news: no matter how many balls we may have dropped, we can still win!
Today I want you to forgive yourself for every opportunity you missed, every relationship you destroyed, and every blessing you squandered. Yes, you may have dropped some great passes in your life. But don’t worry. God is not going to stop throwing you the ball.
And you can still win!