Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes took a dirty hit that went overlooked by the referees during Sunday’s 28-18 win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 7 of the 2024 NFL season.
Shortly after throwing his second interception of the game in the third quarter, Mahomes got punched in the throat by 49ers defensive lineman Maliek Collins, who got away with it despite doing so in front of a ref.
That play gave plenty to talk about around the NFL, especially since no flag was thrown. However, Mahomes downplayed the incident when speaking to reporters after the game. Still, the Chiefs star mentioned he hopes the Niners player didn’t hit him on purpose.
“I don’t think he really intentionally tried to hit me in the throat, I think he was just trying to push me in the chest there, and he’s taller than me,” Mahomes said in his postgame press conference.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs reacts after a fourth quarter touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on October 20, 2024 in Santa Clara, California.
Mahomes says throat punch was not a factor in Chiefs’ strong finish
The Chiefs were holding a two-point lead by then but they took off after that to win by 10 points. Regardless, Mahomes made it clear that he wasn’t fired up by that punch.
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Instead, it was the turnover what made him wake up: “I threw the pick, I don’t know if I was fired up from that, I kind of hurt my defense there. We continue to make strides in the right direction, but at the same time we make those mistakes, especially me, so we’re winning football games, which is awesome, but we’ll try to continue to get better.“
Collins throat punches Mahomes after the play. #KCvsSF
Andy Reid avoids comment on throat punch to Mahomes by Collins
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was also asked about this missed call by the refs, and whether it lit a fire in his quarterback. But he stayed away from any controversy by joking about the situation.
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“You probably noticed his voice isn’t...,” Reid joked, sparking laughter from the reporters, before providing a more serious answer: “No, I didn’t see anything.“
