Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are into the AFC Championship Game after beating the Texans 23-14, but fans are upset with the quarterback for ‘flopping’ in the second half on Saturday.
With Kansas City leading just 13-12 in the fourth quarter, Mahomes ran out of bounds on 2nd-and-goal but decelerated before stepping out.
The two-time MVP was then shoved out of bounds 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 livid with Mahomes as they believed he exaggerated the contact.
‘That flop makes Mahomes so f***ing unlikeable…….,’ one wrote on X.
‘Ridiculous attempt at a flop after getting SEVERAL questionable roughing calls already this game. This is the reason people outside of KC don’t like Mahomes,’ another added.
Patrick Mahomes was slammed by fans for ‘flopping’ against the Houston Texans
An unnecessary roughness penalty was called on the Texans in the second half on this play
And a third said, ‘As someone who absolutely loves him, that blatant flop from Mahomes is so disappointing. He’s so much better than having to resort to that type of bulls***t.’
That sentiment was even shared on air by ESPN analyst Troy Aikman, who said Mahomes was trying to initiate contact.
‘He’s trying to draw the penalty. Rather than just run out of bounds, he slows down,’ Aikman said. ‘And that’s been the frustration and I get it. I understand it. That’s been the frustration for these defensive players around the league.’
And Apple TV MLS analyst Taylor Twellman chimed in as well, sarcastically writing ‘I can’t watch soccer because the players dive and flop all the time,’ along with crying-laughing emojis.
Mahomes purported ‘flop’ in the fourth quarter came after To’oTo’o was penalized a quarter prior for unnecessary roughness when he hit a sliding Mahomes.
After dropping the snap, Mahomes scrambled for a short gain before deciding to give himself up while Folorunso Fatukasi and To’oTo’o were quickly approaching.
Mahomes was all smiles after beating the Texans 23-14 in the divisional round on Saturday
Aikman did not like that call either.
‘Oh, come on! I mean, he’s a runner,’ he said. ‘I could not disagree with that one more. He barely gets hit.’
ESPN rules analyst Russell Yurk agreed with the former Cowboy: ‘The two Houston players hit each other. That should not have been a foul,’ he said.
Houston’s Will Anderson Jr. was also assessed a controversial roughing the passer penalty for hitting Mahomes in the first quarter.
And after the game, the defensive end claimed that Houston was up against the officials as well as the back-to-back Super Bowl champions.
‘We knew it was going to be us against the refs going into this game,’ he told reporters.
