KC Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes Apologizes for Behavior After Bills Loss: ‘You Can’t Do That'

Kansas City's superstar quarterback is disappointed in the way he reacted to a tough late-game penalty and a close loss.

The Kansas City Chiefs' Week 14 loss to the Buffalo Bills was perhaps the team's most dramatic one this season, which is saying a lot considering what's happened in 2023. A lot of that is due to quarterback Patrick Mahomes's reaction to wide receiver Kadarius Toney being called for offensive offsides late in the fourth quarter.

After Mahomes delivered a pass to tight end Travis Kelce, Kelce threw the ball back to Toney and the 24-year-old wideout ended up scoring on the play. That would have given Kansas City the lead if not for the flag; the home team failed to finish off its drive with any points shortly thereafter. That preserved a Bills win, and Mahomes was not happy with in-game officials at the end of it all:

Patrick Mahomes also slammed his helmet. Never seen him this upset. pic.twitter.com/3m0F2jdMPu https://t.co/VXkxHjkilj

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 11, 2023

After the game, Mahomes was also spotted speaking to Bills quarterback Josh Allen about the play. Using some choice words, the reigning NFL MVP was still quite upset. That continued into his postgame press conference, when he called the timing and circumstance of the penalty "not what we want for the NFL or for football." All of that appears to be in the past now, however, as Mahomes cleared the air this week.

Speaking to Carrington Harrison during his weekly segment on 610 Sports Radio's The Drive on Monday, Mahomes took accountability for his actions. Apologizing for the way he acted towards officials and Allen both, the veteran quarterback added that he didn't set an ideal example for children who watched the game. 

"Obviously, you don't want to react that way. I mean, I care, man. I love it. I love this game, I love my teammates and I want to go out there and put everything on the line to win. But obviously, you can't do that. You can't be that way towards officials or really anybody in life. I probably regret acting like that but more than anything, I regret the way I acted towards Josh after the game because he had nothing to do with it. I was still hot and emotional, but you can't do that, man. It's not a great example for kids watching the game. I was more upset about that than I was about me on the sideline." 

This is the first time that Mahomes, now in his seventh season in the league, has gotten that vocal or disgruntled with refereeing decisions. Outside of Sunday, he's been a model representative for the NFL both on and off the field. Now the face of the league, he'll look to move forward and learn from a tough day as he and the Chiefs try to gear up and make a push for prime playoff positioning in the coming weeks.

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