Patrick Mahomes has taken plenty of hits over his career and usually moves on without complaint, so it stood out when he admitted that a hit from the Miami Dolphins linebacker Chop Robinson left a mark. The play has reignited the debate over how officials treat the Kansas City Chiefs. Whether or not it deserved a flag, Mahomes chose his words carefully.
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“No, he got me,” Patrick Mahomes said, per KMBC News. “He got me for sure pretty good. But that’s part of playing football. They brought a good stunt with the D-line. I try to get the ball in my hands. When you throw the ball, you’re kind of exposed. He got me pretty solid. But I was able to bounce back up there, and we went out there and finished that drive.”
Kansas City arrived in Miami hoping to stretch its winning run to three games to start the season. The Dolphins were hanging around, trailing 14-10 late in the third quarter, and the Chiefs offense was stuck deep in its own territory.
Facing third and nine from their own five-yard line, Mahomes dropped back and threw an incomplete pass. Robinson, a third-year edge rusher, arrived just as the ball left his hand.
The contact was hard and centered on the middle of Mahomes’s body. Robinson let go of him during the hit, but his momentum carried him forward, and he came down on top of the quarterback. The flag flew almost immediately.
In fact, two flags hit the turf, one for roughing the passer on Robinson and one for defensive holding on Miami. The Chiefs took the personal foul on Robinson, extending the drive, which handed them 15 yards and a fresh set of downs.
Mahomes needed a moment. He got to his feet with a hand pressed against his back and looked shaken.
That matters because of where Mahomes is physically. He returned this season after tearing his ACL and LCL in his left knee last December, and he has looked sharp since. Through the first two weeks, he completed 63.5 percent of his throws for 566 yards and five touchdowns with one interception.
Any big hit draws extra attention, and a back grab from a quarterback coming off a major knee injury naturally makes people hold their breath.
The penalty also turned into a scoring chance. Kansas City moved downfield and Harrison Butker connected from 34 yards to make it 17-10. Miami failed to score on its next drive, and Mahomes answered by finding Travis Kelce for another touchdown. Malik Willis threw an interception on the Dolphins’ following possession.
Butker missed a 50-yard attempt late, but the outcome was already settled.
On the other hand, Robinson may not be done with the play yet. Roughing the passer carries a $17,911 fine for a first offense, and the league will announce its Week 3 penalties on Saturday, so it will soon decide whether the hit costs him more than a flag.
Kansas City, meanwhile, can turn its attention to Las Vegas, where it will try to make it four straight.
Referee bias talk returns after Patrick Mahomes hit
A flag is just a flag, but the reaction to this one was hard to miss. Within minutes, fans were accusing the officials of favoring the Kansas City Chiefs again, a complaint that follows this team around whenever a close call goes its way.
One fan called it the worst roughing the passer call the sport has ever seen and declared, “Game is gone, man”.
There was real substance behind the frustration. Palm Beach Post writer Eric J. Wallace also argued the penalty deserved scrutiny.
Notably, Robinson did not lower his head, did not target the head or neck, and released Mahomes as he made contact. He also appeared to avoid driving the quarterback into the turf, which is why the call felt so harsh to many viewers.
Former cornerback Richard Sherman weighed in on X as well, pointing out that the only way for Robinson to avoid a flag was to not attempt the play at all.
“Not sure what else the defender can do to avoid the Roughing call other than not trying to make the play,” Sherman wrote on X, sharing a clip of the hit.
Still, the rulebook leaves little wiggle room. Landing on a passer with full body weight is a foul, and so is hitting him after the ball is gone. The broadcast noted that Robinson tried to break his fall with his arms, yet his weight still ended up on Mahomes, which is exactly what the rule is written to punish.
Robinson did nearly everything a defender could to soften the blow, yet the rule punishes the outcome, and that is why the debate over Kansas City’s calls will not fade soon.