Patrick Mahomes is the super-cool quarterback who rarely loses his rag.
But a couple of AFC rivals seem to rattle the Kansas City Chiefs star more than any other, and the three-time Super Bowl winner has the fines to prove it.
While the AFC West rival Las Vegas Raiders offer their own type of challenge, in less than 12 months, Mahomes has racked up two fines — amounting to $64,000 — against the Buffalo Bills alone.
The most recent of which was a $14,000 penalty for pantomiming what the NFL deemed a ‘violent gesture’ during the Chiefs 30-21 loss to the Bills last week.
CBS cameras showed the reigning Super Bowl MVP putting his hands up seemingly in a gun or rifle shooting gesture during the fourth quarter of the defeat.
The league deems such actions as unsportsmanlike conduct.
“To protect players from unnecessary risk and preserve competitive balance and game integrity, the NFL and NFL Players Association have agreed on a set of game-related rules violations that may result in accountability measures,” the NFL explains on their website under “Gameday Accountability.”
It is just the second time Mahomes has been fined during his entire career.
The first also came against the Bills, a game the Chiefs also lost.
The fine occurred last December when Mahomes was docked $50,000 for ‘verbally abusing’ officials during a regular season game at Arrowhead.
Kansas City were denied a potential game-winning touchdown with just over a minute to play after receiver Kadarius Toney was correctly deemed to have been in an offside position before the ball was snapped.
Mahomes let the red mist descend, despite replays showing the decision was correct, slamming his helmet to the ground and screaming at the referees as teammates held him back.
The usually calm QB visibly expressed his displeasure with the call during his post-game interaction with Bills quarterback Josh Allen, and continued to vent during his news conference after the game.
It was an uncharacteristic outburst from the 29-year-old, and he was fined for $50,000 ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ and ‘abusive, threatening or insulting language to officials’.
Moreover, during that same game, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was fined a whopping $100,000 for publicly criticizing an official — meaning Mahomes and Reid have racked up $164,000 in fines against the Bills in under a year.
‘Big Red’ also criticized the Toney call during his post-game media session, stating that receivers usually get a warning from officials if they’re lined up incorrectly while adding that the situation was “a bit embarrassing.”
Both Mahomes and Reid backtracked on their original comments once they’d cooled down. Mahomes in particular was quick to hold his hands up and admit his actions were out of line and that he was trying to be a better role model.
Despite their momentary head loss, the future Hall of Fame pair managed to regain their cool for the rest of the season.
The Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl, avenging their regular season loss to the Bills along the way by marching into Highmark Stadium in the Divisional Round and coming away with a 27-24 victory.
Buffalo got their own back on Kansas City in Week 11 of this season by handing them their first defeat of the campaign.
Allen put on his Superman cape and accounted for 317 of the Bills’ 366 offensive yards, including a brilliant 26-yard touchdown run with 2 minutes and 17 seconds remaining.
The highlight reel play pushed Buffalo to 9-2 for the year and cemented Allen’s status as a legitimate MVP candidate.
It also saw his personal record against Mahomes improve to 3-2 in the regular season, although Mahomes is still 3-0 against Allen in the playoffs.
With both teams almost certain to wrap up divisional titles in the coming weeks another postseason showdown looms – and Mahomes may need to have his chequebook at the ready.
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