Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes regrets his irate response to officials flagging Kadarius Toney offside in Sunday’s loss to Buffalo.
Wednesday, the MVP quarterback said the emotions of the moment got the best of him, and he is particularly disappointed in his interaction with Bills quarterback Josh Allen after the contest, wherein cameras caught Mahomes complaining to his counterpart about the call.
“Yeah, definitely emotion talking when I was talking to Josh at midfield,” he said. “Just to lose the football game, a tough football game in a tough way. But I let it go on too long, ’cause like I said, he had nothing to do with it. Just show better sportsmanship and tell him great game and kinda keep it moving.”
Officials penalized Toney for lining up offside — the correct call — on a play that would have resulted in the go-ahead touchdown with just over a minute remaining in the contest. After a failed fourth down ended the Chiefs’ chances, Mahomes blew up on the sideline, and his complaints carried over after the game and into his postgame news conference.
Mahomes said the team needs to turn the page and move forward, starting with Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.
“Once the game was over and kind of got to sleep and come back on that Monday, Tuesday, I think everybody’s mind was in the right spot,” he said. “In this league, you kind of have to move past that stuff. We’re gonna play a great football team that plays extremely hard and is playing better football right now than they’ve played all season long. So it’s gonna be a great test for us and a great challenge. So, I think guys’ heads are in the right spot.”
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The talk about the refs postgame deflected some of the attention away from Toney’s blunder. The receiver has struggled this season, particularly with drops, and Sunday’s penalty wiped out a potential game-winning play.
“All the receivers know I believe in them,” Mahomes said when asked if he’s checked in with Toney and his WRs this week. “That’s just kind of how I roll. If you’re in this locker room and I see how hard you work, I’m going to trust in you in big moments, and I’m going to give you chances to go out there and make plays. From everything I know, their mindset seems like it’s in a good spot and they just want to go out there and continue to get better and better. I can see that by how hard they’re working.”
Mahomes’ sideline reaction and fuming after the contest were out of character for a player who generally shoulders blame even when it resides elsewhere. The response to the call appeared to be a release of pent-up frustration after weeks of team inconsistencies.
Wednesday, Mahomes brushed off a question about the pressure of being the face of a franchise, noting he always strives to be a good role model.
“That’s not necessarily pressure of being the franchise, that’s just pressure of being a good person,” he said. “I try to act in a way that I’m a good role model because I looked up to guys on this stage ever since I was a little kid running through the locker room. So I’m just trying to be a good person. Obviously I care, so my emotions were shown on the football field, which they’ve been shown in good ways, and, obviously, that wasn’t a good way. But at the end of the day, I’m just trying to be the best person that I can be. The face of the franchise, NFL stuff, that’s gonna come and go, but if I can show the person I am every single day and that sets an example, that’s what I want to do when my career is over.”
The two-time Super Bowl MVP owning his outburst is the sign of a good person and a great leader. We all stumble. The best we can do is learn and correct mistakes.
