On Jan. 26, the Kansas City Chiefs and their quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, locked in their place in Super Bowl 59. After their 32-29 win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship, an unexpected guest showed up at their locker room.
Kansas City Chiefs Fans React to Patrick Mahomes’ Look-Alike Dylan Raiola’s Sudden Appearance
Mahomes had a visitor waiting for him in the locker room — his doppelganger, Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola.
Raiola has been compared to Mahomes due to his looks, style, and on-field tendencies. So when he popped in during a live stream with Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco after the game, viewers might’ve been a little confused.
The running back cleared it up, saying, “That ain’t Pat, y’all,” before showing the real Mahomes to viewers.
"That ain't Pat." 😂
Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola was in the Chiefs locker room after their AFC Championship win 😅
(via @isiah_pachecoRB) pic.twitter.com/qmORFMPRfL
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 27, 2025
Upon viewing the video, fans expressed their excitement about seeing the freshman alongside Chiefs players in the comment section.
“The Chiefs have to draft that guy,” a fan joked.
The jokes seemed to write themselves. With a fanbase in celebration mode, everyone was willing to join in on the fun.
“I can’t believe that security let this dude through because they mistook him for Patrick Mahomes 🫵😹,” a fan jested.
“‘Fake it ’til you make it’ taken to a whole new level 🏈😂,” another fan said.
Meanwhile, other fans posed a few questions. Raiola’s similarities are striking, but some are off-put by the effort the Nebraska passer has put into matching Mahomes and his mannerisms.
“Lmao wonder what Mahomes thinks of this guy,” a fan wrote.
“Anyone else curious why?” another asked.
In his debut season with the Cornhuskers, Raiola threw for 2,819 yards and 13 touchdowns. Mahomes has already taken note of the top recruit and his high-level talent.
“I know Dylan, I trained with him in the offseason,” Mahomes told ESPN. “Great kid, a great football player, and I think he’s going to make his own stamp on the game. And I think you’ve seen that early in his career.”
The two quarterbacks share the same jersey number, 15. Watching the young quarterback trying to copy his signature moves during practice, Mahomes had also quipped, “It’s just telling me I’m getting a little old.”
Mahomes also enjoyed the imitations. “It’s cool, honestly,” he said. “I was that guy. I grew up watching players. I remember when I would grow up, I loved Alex Rodriguez playing shortstop and I tried to make plays just like him and do stuff like that, and it helped me become the athlete that I am.”
While Mahomes waits until Feb. 9 for Super Bowl LIX against the Philadelphia Eagles, Raiola won’t see game action until the 2025 season opener in August against the Cincinnati Bearcats.