Patrick Mahomes Shows His True Character With Press Conference Comment

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Patrick Mahomes showed his true character with a press conference comment on Wednesday.

The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Houston Texans, 23-14, in the AFC Divisional Round on Saturday. But the win was not without controversy. The Chiefs - and, specifically, Mahomes - were on the beneficial end of some controversial calls by the officiating crew. The Texans were called for a brutal roughing the passer penalty and, later, a questionable late-hit penalty. Both calls proved to be huge in the Chiefs' close win. NFL fans were taking to social media, suggesting that the game had been "rigged." 

Mahomes was asked on Wednesday if he felt that the Chiefs are on the receiving end of some beneficial treatment from the referees. He does not.

"I don't feel that way. I just try to play football at the end of the day. The referees are doing their best to call the game as fair and as proper as they can," Mahomes said.

However, Mahomes did own up to some of his poor behavior on Saturday afternoon, with a telling press conference comment.

Mahomes admitted that he "flopped" during the second half of Saturday's win over the Texans. Mahomes was pushed out of bounds by a Texans defender and the Chiefs quarterback intentionally exaggerated the impact of the push, trying to bait the referees into a penalty flag.

"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. The ref saw it and didn't throw a flag, I understood it immediately and know that I probably shouldn't have done that," Mahomes said on The Drive on 96.5 The Fan in Kansas City on Wednesday.

Mahomes was ripped apart for the move during the game.

Patrick Mahomes with a flop that would make Josh Allen proud pic.twitter.com/hJNFzmpV6J

— outbreezy (@outbreezyWC) January 18, 2025

ESPN announcer Troy Aikman was among those who criticized Mahomes for his behavior.

"You see, rather than just run out of bounds, he slows down," ESPN's NFL announcer said of the flop. "That's been the frustration. I get it, I understand. That's been the frustration of these defensive players around the league."

Mahomes, though, owned up to it on Wednesday. It's rare to see an athlete admit that they intentionally flopped or tried to bait the referees into a penalty flag a couple of days following a game. It's good to see that even Mahomes could see that what he did was wrong.

Will we see any more flopping in the AFC Championship Game, though?

Kickoff in the AFC Championship Game is scheduled for 6 p.m. E.T. on Sunday. The game will air on CBS.