Plastics are known to be one of the most durable materials on the planet. But even that didn’t stand a chance against the record-cold -4°F that Kansas City witnessed. A particular highlight concerning Patrick Mahomes went viral when his helmet shattered upon a direct clash during the Chiefs–Dolphins playoff game. In a sport as physical as football, a player’s safety is the top priority. So, when the one thing protecting Mahomes’ head essentially crumbled, the entirety of the Arrowhead Stadium held its breath. And Mama Mahomes led the charge.

During the final stretch of the play, Mahomes attempted a run with the ball but collided face-to-face with Dolphins safety Deshon Elliott. Owing to making contact at an awkward angle, the QB’s helmet couldn’t handle the hit. It cracked along the left side, and a large piece chipped off. Witnessing the series of events play out in front of her, Randi Mahomes was understandably worried for her son. She wrote on X, “This helmet issue and the replays.. makes watching from home absolutely not my favorite. Go my team!! #CHIEFS just tell me the cold broke the helmet 🥶🥶🥶” Well, Patrick Mahomes answered that question for her in a post-game presser.

When asked about the nasty-looking contact – wherein he seemed to be absorbing the hit with his head – and the subsequent helmet-shattering, Mahomes replied, “I’m sure it had to do with it being really cold.” Considering NFL helmets are made of polycarbonate shells, a type of thermoplastic polymer, they are built to withstand sudden and forceful impacts. But because of the sub-zero temperatures, the helmet was already brittle, likely causing it to break. However, that wasn’t the only thing to take a hit that night.

Millions of Dolphins fans’ dreams and HC Mike McDaniel’s hopes were also shattered. While the freezing weather conditions were likely responsible for Patrick Mahomes’ helmet breaking, Miami fans couldn’t help but think that the series of events that followed played a role in their team’s loss. And those series of events were attributed to bad officiating. Needless to say, the battleground shifted from the Arrowhead Stadium to X.

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NFL officiating gave Patrick Mahomes & Co. “every single advantage” it could

The wait continues for the Dolphins. The defending champions are the kryptonite the Phins just can’t overcome. For all their regular season efforts, the league’s most polished offense surrendered, scoring just 7 points against the stat-heavy Chiefs defense. But was there bad officiating involved? Mike McDaniel (not the Dolphins HC) sure thought so.

The thing about the NFL is that every quarterback must carry a spare helmet if a situation like this ever arises. In such cases, you would expect the player to step out of the field, put on the helmet, and then come back on. However, that wasn’t what happened during the playoff game. Instead, the referees stopped the game to let Mahomes change his helmet. That didn’t sit well with many, including former NFL referee Terry McAulay.

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Commenting during the game, he said, “They just stopped the game for an equipment change and stopped the play clock, which is interesting. You don’t see that without having to take a timeout.” Fans on X agreed with McAulay, with one of them writing, “That’s true. Equipment change is automatic timeout. The NFL gives the Chiefs every single advantage it can.”

Another user called the referees “confused,” replying, “I’ll agree that was a weird situation. I think the refs were too confused on what to do.” Considering the Dolphins couldn’t do much in the game, most fans felt a Chiefs timeout wouldn’t have made a difference. But it did bring up other bad officiating calls. “Didn’t really make a difference. Unlike the huge missed call on Hardman.” While this user pointed to a foul on Mecole Hardman, Phins fans brought up missed calls on their team.

The Phins were penalized with a ‘roughing the passer’ call on Mahomes, who was tossed to the ground after attempting a pass. Minutes later, linebacker Justin Hoston was held by the Chiefs’ offensive tackle Donovan Smith, likely illegally so. This time, the referee didn’t issue a foul call. The traveling Phins fans were burning with anger, and the referee faced the heat during the cold match-up.

One Phins fan shot a logical comment, “Terrible play from a selfish Miami defender Who just cost his team any chance to come back.” Another wrote, “The NFL fines coaches and players like they’re giving out Costco food samples, yet the officials are never held accountable for egregious errors. Until the officials get penalized for poor game metrics, this will inevitably continue.” 

The Chiefs, on the other hand, feel that Daniel and the team’s defense and offense both were flawed. The tell of the tale remains that the wait continues for the Dolphins, at least for one more year and as long as indefinitely…

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