Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is under fire from fans and some in the media over his questionable antics in the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory against the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Patrick Mahomes Receives Major Social Media Backlash for ‘Flopping’ in Chiefs’ Victory
Though the Chiefs handled business at home, taking down the Texans 23-14 en route to their seventh straight AFC Championship Game, Mahomes has received a ton of backlash on social media for his antics during the game.
While many fans complained about the poor officiating in the game, they were also frustrated by Mahomes “flopping” to get these calls. One incident was worse than the rest, as he exaggerated a push out of bounds to get an unnecessary roughness call.
One fan called it a “Ridiculous attempt at a flop after getting SEVERAL questionable roughing calls already this game. This is the reason people outside of KC (Kansas City) don’t like Mahomes.”
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. https://t.co/qLfFxf26K7
— FF BirdGang (@FFBirdGang) January 18, 2025
Another fan also called this attempt ridiculous, saying, “What a ridiculous flop attempt by Mahomes, this is embarrassing.”
What a ridiculous flop attempt by Mahomes 😂😂this is embarrassing pic.twitter.com/8pcU76KhZn
— Ace Football Analytics (@js_ace_football) January 18, 2025
One fan even called this attempt “one of the worst flops you will ever see. This is absurd.”
Patrick Mahomes flopping…
This should be a flag 🤦♂️pic.twitter.com/pFOUuGoEXz
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 18, 2025
Popular sports media personality Dov Kleiman also noted Mahomes “flopping” and even said that he should get a penalty for this.
PATRICK MAHOMES WITH ONE OF THE WORST FLOPS YOU WILL EVER SEE.
😳😳😳
This is absurd.pic.twitter.com/98im9yBbYM
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) January 18, 2025
To make matters worse, it was more than just the fans expressing their frustration for Mahomes’ questionable antics. Former NFL quarterback and current analyst Troy Aikman also called him out on the broadcast for “trying to draw the penalty.”
“He’s trying to draw the penalty. Rather than just run out of bounds, he slows down. 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.”
More from Aikman.
"He's trying to draw the penalty. Rather than just run out of bounds, he slows down. 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." https://t.co/rzfAXSaz6o pic.twitter.com/LilHhaI2Bh
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 18, 2025
This play only added to Aikman’s frustration and seemingly all of social media as it followed another play in which Mahomes went out of his way to try and draw a call.
Late in the third quarter, Mahomes slid late, leading to two Texans defenders having minor contact with him.
The referees called an unnecessary roughness penalty on Houston, and Aikman immediately voiced his disagreement with the call, saying, “Oh, come on! I mean, he’s a runner. I could not disagree with that one more. He barely gets hit.”
Aikman also added that the NFL has to “address it in the offseason.”
"Oh, come on! I mean, he's a runner. I could not disagree with that one more. He barely gets hit." – Troy Aikman
"The two Houston players hit each other. That should not have been a foul." – Russell Yurk
"They've gotta address it in the offseason…" – Aikman 🏈🎙️🦓 #NFL https://t.co/vXj2v7VTKg pic.twitter.com/QioQ5IQwhg
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 18, 2025
As Aikman said, hopefully, the league will begin addressing this issue in the offseason, as this simply cannot go on any longer. It’s one thing when a few people notice it, but when it’s virtually the entire NFL fan base along with its former players, it has to be taken seriously.
