Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are in the AFC Championship Game after beating the Texans 23-14, but fans are upset with the quarterback for “failure” in the second half on Saturday.
With Kansas City leading just 13-12 in the fourth quarter, Mahomes left the field on second-and-goal, but slowed before exiting.
The two-time MVP was then pushed off the field by Houston’s Henry To’oTo’o before raising his arms in the air and falling to the ground.
No flag was thrown on the play, which directly preceded a touchdown pass to Travis Kelce, but fans were furious with Mahomes because they believed he exaggerated the contact.
‘That failure makes Mahomes so fucking unpleasant…’, one wrote in X.
‘Ridiculous attempt at a flop after getting SEVERAL questionable draft calls in this game. “This is why people outside of Kansas don’t like Mahomes,” said another. aggregate.
Patrick Mahomes criticized by fans for ‘failure’ against Houston Texans
An unnecessary roughness penalty was called on the Texans in the second half on this play.
and a third saying“As someone who absolutely loves him, that blatant failure by Mahomes is very disappointing.” “It’s a lot better than having to resort to that kind of nonsense.”
That sentiment was even shared on air by ESPN analyst Troy Aikman, who said Mahomes was trying to initiate contact.
He is trying to take the penalty. Instead of just going out of bounds, he slows down,” Aikman said. ‘And that’s been the frustration and I get it. I get it. That’s been the frustration of these defensive players around the league.’
And Apple TV MLS analyst Taylor Twellman chimed in as well, sarcastically writing “I can’t watch football because players dive and fall all the time,” along with crying and laughing emojis.
Mahomes’ supposed fourth-quarter ‘failure’ came after To’oTo’o was penalized a quarter earlier for unnecessary roughness when he hit a sliding Mahomes.
After dropping the snap, Mahomes battled for a brief gain before deciding to surrender as Folorunso Fatukasi and To’oTo’o quickly closed in.
Mahomes was all smiles after beating the Texans 23-14 in the divisional round on Saturday.
Aikman didn’t like that call either.
‘Oh, come on! I mean, he’s a runner,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t disagree more with that. They barely reach it.
ESPN rules analyst Russell Yurk agreed with the former Cowboy: ‘The two Houston players hit each other. “That shouldn’t have been a foul,” he said.
Will Anderson Jr. of Houston also received a rating of Controversial punishment for mistreatment of the passer for hitting Mahomes in the first quarter.
And after the game, the defensive end claimed that Houston was up against the referees and also the back-to-back Super Bowl champions.
“We knew it was going to be us against the referees before this game,” he said. told reporters.