Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is speaking out after fans accused him of blatantly flopping like he was in a LeBron James flop-alike contest during the AFC divisional playoff game this past weekend.
The play in question came early on in the fourth quarter, with the Chiefs up 13-12. Bear in mind that the Texans had already been slapped with two personal foul calls for roughing the passer when they did nothing of the sort.
Mahomes danced along the sidelines and, as he often does, slowed down, forcing the defenders to give him a little extra push to get him out of bounds. He does this because he knows a defender touching him will immediately draw the attention of the refs, but it also allows him, if there is an opening, to keep pushing for extra yards since they can’t touch him.
And frankly, the move is starting to wear thin. Even commentator Troy Aikman ripped the flopping by Mahomes.
“He’s trying to draw the penalty. Rather than just run out of bounds, he slows down,” Aikman points out. “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.”
Move over Lebron James. There is a new flopper in town. So glad that even the announcers are sick of Mahomes and the B.S. #Mahomesflopping #mahomesbeta #mahomesembarrassing #flop #kcgetsallthecalls #badcalls #NFLisRigged #NFLScripted pic.twitter.com/2sstfnhw2J
— Peter Anthony Productions (@ThePeterAnthony) January 19, 2025
Patrick Mahomes Speaks Out On Flopping
To his credit, Patrick Mahomes owned up somewhat to the egregious flopping on this one particular play.
“I would say the only one I felt like I probably did too much was the one on the sideline where I didn’t get the flag,” he said during an interview with 96.5 The Fan.
“The ref saw it and didn’t throw a flag, I understood it immediately and know that I probably shouldn’t have done that.”
Still, he seems to suggest his actions are okay because the refs didn’t fall for it this time around. It also sounds like the move was premeditated, which should be an automatic 15-yarder besides.
Will he do it again? Probably. A LeBron does not change their stripes.
Disgusting Tactics
Barstool Sports president Dave Portnoy tore Mahomes apart over the flopping issue.
“Mahomes is a great player,” he wrote on X. “No need to disgrace the game and ruin his legacy with this flopping bulls***.”
“Are you kidding me?” he added in video commentary. “I’m surprised the refs didn’t throw a flag.”
Portnoy rightly points out that Mahomes, on the very next play, throws an incredible touchdown pass to Travis Kelce, but it doesn’t take away from the flopping controversy.
“I’ve lost a lot of respect for the Chiefs … and everybody who roots for the Chiefs,” he said. “This is disgusting!”
Maholmes is a great player. No need to disgrace the game and ruin his legacy with this flopping bullshit. pic.twitter.com/xW5y6tUmBb
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) January 18, 2025
Listen, he’s going to keep flopping. Why would Mahomes stop when he knows he’s getting favorable reactions from the officiating crew? We already pointed out that a few Texans players expressed that it feels like they were playing against the Chiefs and the referees in that game.
Mahomes defended the officials, saying, “Those guys are doing their best to make the best calls and keep it to where the players are making the plays in the game.”
He then immediately flopped to the floor.
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