Kansas City Chiefs star given ‘John Cena’ nickname by Patrick Mahomes after Denver heroics as Andy Reid leads praise
PATRICK Mahomes has given a new nickname to one of his teammates.
Linebacker Leo Chenal is one of the heroes of this season for the Kansas City Chiefs, and got a nickname fitting that.
Chenal had a solid game on Sunday, collecting four tackles on the day, but his biggest moment game in the last play of the game.
The linebacker got a hand up and blocked the Denver Broncos‘ game-winning field goal attempt.
This got him plenty of credit from his teammates in the locker room, Mahomes being among those.
“He’s extremely strong,” Patrick Mahomes said.
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“He’s like the strength of a D-lineman but he plays the linebacker position.”
Mahomes shared that the team has named Chenal after WWE superstar John Cena for his work ethic.
“You don’t want to be that guy on the end when he’s working out. We call him John Cena,” he said.
“He’s a guy who gets after it and we’ve used him on offense because of the way he’s able to use his speed and athleticism with that power.
“He did it in the Super Bowl and he did it again today.”
Head coach Andy Reid also gave Chenal his flowers for the spectacular play.
“Arguably take it down for the winning kick and then Leo steps up and does what Leo does every week,” he said.
“Somewhere he makes a play defensively, special teams, somewhere he steps up and makes a play.”
Chenal’s special play helped the Chiefs move to 9-0 on the season. They are the only undefeated team left in the NFL.
Mahomes didn’t have his best day, passing for 266 yards and just one touchdown, being held scoreless in the second half.
However, he isn’t worried about it and is looking forward to the Chiefs’ next contest.
NFL important dates
August 1 – Hall of Fame Game – Houston Texans vs Chicago Bears
August 8 – Pre-season begins
August 27 – Deadline for 53-man rosters
September 1 – Final day of pre-season
September 5 – Season opener – Baltimore Ravens vs Kansas City Chiefs
November 5 – Trade deadline
January 5 – Week 18 of regular-season
January 11 – Playoffs begin
February 9 – Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, Louisiana
“It’s week to week in this league,” Mahomes said.
“I just continue to work and get better throughout the entire season.
“We know its going to be a great challenge this next week, Buffalo’s playing great football.
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“They’ve played great football for a while now and we understand what it takes to go into an environment like that and have to give it everything you have in order to get a win.”
The Chiefs take on the Buffalo Bills on Sunday looking to remain undefeated this season.