A recent National Football League (NFL) game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills erupted in controversy after Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes expressed his discontent with the referees, leading many to criticize him.
When all hope seemed lost for Bills head coach Sean McDermott, a yellow flag was tossed on the field indicating an offside penalty on the Chiefs.
Mahomes had thrown the football to tight end Travis Kelce, who then passed it to wide receiver Kadarius Toney for a 49-year touchdown, giving the Chiefs the lead in the game. Yet, despite such attempts, officials reviewed the play and called it back, dealing a huge blow to the Kansas-based team.
The game ended in a 20-17 victory for the Bills.
Upon the game’s conclusion, Mahomes, visibly angry, began approaching three different officials, seeking an explanation.
Mahomes later addressed reporters about what happened on the field. He explained that offside penalties are usually never called in the NFL.
“I’ve played seven years in the National Football League and never had offensive offside called,” Mahomes said during his postgame news conference. “That’s elementary school [stuff] we’re talking about. There was no warning throughout the entire game. Then you wait until there’s a minute left in the game to make a call like that? It’s tough.”
Mahomes’ rant after the game was seen by many as being childish. The NFL quarterback was scolded online for his decision to complain instead of moving forward and congratulating the opposing team.
“New on the field video shows Patrick Mahomes was still cursing the refs calling the offsides penalty, even after the game ended…” NFL journalist Dov Kleiman said. “The refs made the correct call, Mahomes needs to get over it.”
After losing to the Bills, Mahomes met with his counterpart on the Buffalo team, quarterback Josh Allen.
Instead of handshaking Allen, Mahomes yelled expletives, pointing out that the officials’ decision was the “wildest” he had ever seen in the NFL.
“Beyond insane thing to say to the opposing QB after the game,” Sports By The Book host Jeff Parles wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Beyond insane thing to say to the opposing QB after the game https://t.co/S1amLXBCzv
— Jeff Parles (@jeffparles) December 11, 2023
ESPN Radio host Jake Asman commented on the matter, writing, “This is such a terrible look for Mahomes. Funniest thing is that it was the right call too and he gets more calls going his way than anybody.”
