Calls Mount for Patrick Mahomes to Be Punished by NFL for Flopping During Chiefs’ Win vs Raiders

After 8 weeks of enthralling NFL action, it’s the Chiefs Kingdom that reigns above everyone in the NFL. Extending their unbeaten run to the season in Las Vegas, Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs are now 7-0 going into week 9. They didn’t have to break much sweat to get one over their divisional rivals, the Raiders. But, there was a moment in the game that might have caught the fans’ attention, thereby putting the Chiefs’ QB on their radar.

Trying to throw a pass in the fourth quarter with the Chiefs leading 17-13, Mahomes was supposedly pushed by Raiders LB K’Lavon Chaisson. Although he had already completed the pass, Chaisson’s push came a few seconds later. This resulted in the Chiefs QB falling to the ground, looking like he was fouled. Even the referees thought so as they threw a flag for a 15-yard roughing of the passer penalty on the Raiders.

Because passing often puts the quarterback (or any other player attempting a pass) vulnerable to injury, special rules against roughing the passer have been put in place. Any physical acts against a player who is in a passing posture (i.e. before, during, or after a pass) that the referee thinks is unwarranted by the circumstances of the play, will be called fouls. There are a few points that referees will consider here. Some of the notable ones are:

.Roughing will be called if, in the Referee’s judgment, a pass rusher clearly should have known that the ball had already left the passer’s hand before contact was made

.A rushing defender is prohibited from committing such intimidating and punishing acts as “stuffing” a passer into the ground or unnecessarily wrestling or driving him down after the passer has thrown the ball, even if the rusher makes his initial contact with the passer within the one-step limitation provided for in the previous point.

.In covering the passer position, Referees will be particularly alert to fouls in which defenders impermissibly use the helmet and/or facemask to hit the passer, or use hands, arms, or other parts of the body to hit the passer forcibly in the head or neck area

.A rushing defender is prohibited from forcibly hitting in the knee area or below a passer who has one or both feet on the ground, even if the initial contact is above the knee. It is not a foul if the defender is blocked (or fouled) into the passer and has no opportunity to avoid him.

In Mahomes’ case, the QB appeared to be shoved by Chaisson after the ball was thrown. While the contact was minimal, Mahomes reacted in a way that suggested a harder hit, catching the attention of fans. They were not in agreement with the referees’ decision, as they called for Mahomes to be punished for flopping. While we don’t know whether Mahomes deliberately fell to the ground, one of the fans wrote, “I hope he gets suspended for this garbage. That’s awful.”

Mahomes has not publicly addressed the incident in public nor on his social networks. Well, this isn’t even the first time that the Chiefs QB got called out for flopping this season.

I hope he gets suspended for this garbage. That’s awful.

— Andrew Davis (@fcutter22) October 28, 2024

Going back to last week’s Super Bowl LVIII rematch, Mahomes was grabbed by his throat by 49ers DT Maliek Collins. And similar to this week’s reactions, the fans took to X to voice their frustrations. One of them wrote, “Flopping like another supposed goat.” While another called out Mahomes for his acting skills, “Lmfaoooo impeccable acting.” Well, the mockery of Mahomes didn’t stop there, as another fan targeted him for exaggeration, “Mahomes over exaggerated that. Come on. FLOPPPPPPPPPPPP.”

Even after getting bashed online for his antics on the field, Mahomes won both of those clashes. And the Chiefs are looking like a team that is taking their 3-peat ambitions very seriously. As they got the better of the Raiders while cementing their place at the top of the AFC West. As we look at these recent instances, spare a thought for Chiefs week 1 game against the Baltimore Ravens where Mahomes again drew the same allegation.

After the game that the Ravens lost 27-20, their linebacker Roquan Smith had some strong words for Chiefs tight end Peyton Hendershot, whose name he didn’t even know. Asked about a late hit that wasn’t called, Smith told the media that Mahomes had flopped and that he was shoved by someone (Peyton Hendershot) he didn’t know.

“He flopped,” Smith said. “Yeah, he flopped. That’s why the referees didn’t call it. it was a great no-call by the ref. But, whoever 88 is, I don’t know who he is, but he better watch himself. He did a little slick push. Whoever No. 88 is, I have no idea who he is, but I’ll see him when I see him,” Smith had warned.

During the incident in question, Smith pretty clearly shoved Mahomes slightly when he’s quite far out of bounds. Hendershot, who wasn’t even dressed for the game, then shoved Smith as he headed back towards the field. While this year Mahomes has yet to defend himself, in the last season he came out strongly when he was called out for flopping.

In January 2023, the biggest moment from the Kansas City Chiefs’ 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals was a flag, when the Bengals’ Joseph Ossai hit Patrick Mahomes out of bounds after a scramble late in the fourth quarter.

Ossai was handed a 15-yard penalty for a late hit. It turned what would have been a quite long field-goal attempt into a manageable 45-yard try for Harrison Butker. He converted and sent the Chiefs to the Super Bowl and they improved to 3-2 in their last five AFC Championships – all of which they have hosted since 2019. But after the game, not everybody was on the same page over the decisive call.

“That is what the owners want, $40 million skill players flopping on the ground, drawing fouls from [part-time officials who double as] chemistry teachers, medical device salesmen and the like,” an NFC defensive coach told Mike Sando of The Athletic. The coach was referring to the fact that NFL referees are part-time employees by the league. Retired official Ed Houchili is an attorney, something that he has done throughout his refereeing career. His son, Shawn, is a wealth management advisor when not officiating games.

However, on that occasion, the officials probably got the call right. Mahomes was clearly out of bounds when Ossai pushed him. So, by the letter of the law, it was the correct decision. On that occasion, Mahomes had set the score straight.

“The most pain I had was stopping. So once he pushed me, it would have been hard to put my foot in the ground and try to stop. So I rolled through it. You get over there with the heaters and the benches and people, that’s where a lot of times, people get hurt. I think that’s the reason why there’s a flag for getting pushed out of bounds like that late. I mean, I was pretty far out of bounds. It was probably the furthest I’ve been out of bounds before I’ve been hit. So I rolled through it,” Mahomes said when asked about allegations he flopped, according to The Kansas City Star (via Larry Brown Sports).

But on this occasion, was Mahomes really acting? Well, fans are ripping him apart. But is flopping that uncommon in the NFL?

Fans call out Patrick Mahomes amid his flawless showing in Las Vegas

In 2013, former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher had said his teammates used to fake injuries to slow down offenses. Within hours of this, NFL issued a reminder to teams that flopping will not be tolerated. Fans are also not tolerating Mahomes’ act.

Commenting on a post that asked, “Should Patrick Mahomes be fined for flopping?” showing the clip of him tumbling onto the ground. Fans were quick to call for his punishment. “Absolutely he should.” And those opinions didn’t stop there as one of them even called for “1 year suspension.” Although that would be a little exaggerated, considering it was just another controversial decision. There was another fan who wrote about changing the rules, “Only if the NFL and Vegas changes all their rules for this pansy.”

Notably, the NBA has officially started cracking down on flopping. The league’s board of governors permanently implemented a penalty for the action into the playing rules in July. The NBA was using this past season as a trial year for the rule. When a referee calls a flop, the player who committed it will be given a non-unsportsmanlike technical foul. The opposing team then gets to shoot one free throw, and it can send any player who was on the floor at the time of the flop to the line.

Considering the call for rules to be changed to punish Patrick Mahomes, he did give out his own punishment to the Raiders. As the Chiefs’ QB was in his scintillating form in Las Vegas. Passing for 264 yards with two TDs and just one interception, he entered the NFL record books once again. And this time for being the fastest QB in NFL history to reach 30,000 yards.

He even helped his bestie Travis Kelce score his first TD of the season on National Tight End Day. Thereby making last Sunday more memorable for fans in the Chiefs Kingdom. Although we don’t know whether Mahomes would be punished for possible flopping vs the Raiders. His brilliance and the Chiefs’ winning mentality are something that can make it a historic season for them come February.