Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes claimed teammate Kadarius Toney's reaction to his mistake will define him.
The Chiefs fell to 8-5 after a frustrating 20-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills Sunday, which ended in dramatic scenes when Toney's potentially game-winning touchdown was nullified due to an offsides penalty on the wide receiver.
The offside cost Kansas City the win, but Mahomes, who stood on the court in anger at the end of the game, claimed the foul should not apply to Toney.
'Just be yourself man. . . . If you make one mistake, it won't define you. It will determine how you respond to that mistake,” Mahomes said, via PJ Green of Fox 4 in Kansas City.
The quarterback added that “all the receivers know I believe in them.”
Patrick Mahomes claimed that teammate Kadarius Toney's reaction to his mistake will define him
Toney's potentially game-winning touchdown was negated due to an offside penalty
It's not the first mistake Toney has made this season as the wide receiver made a number of drops.
A screaming Mahomes had to be restrained as he tried to confront the officials before telling opposite number Josh Allen that the call was “fucking terrible” in the dramatic moments at the end of the game at Arrowhead Stadium.
Much of the Chiefs' anger was thought to stem from the referees' failure to warn them of a possible offensive offside.
But referee Carl Cheffers said Toney was so far offside that he was 'blocking our view of the ball' and admitted he would have given the Chiefs advice on their positioning if they had asked. But head coach Andy Reid admitted that wasn't the case.
Toney's touchdown would have given the hosts a 23-20 lead with just over a minute to play, but when the score was erased and Buffalo held on for the win, the red mist descended on Mahomes.
But the signal caller has apparently calmed down since Sunday's meltdown, saying Monday night that he regretted his actions.
Mahomes admitted his behavior was excessive and is now prepared to accept the “consequences” of it.
The officials called the touchdown back because Toney (circled) was in an offside position
The irate quarterback yelled at the officials and slammed his helmet after the call
The Chiefs players stopped Mahomes when he tried to confront the officials after an offside rule
When asked whether he expected a fine, he replied 610 Sports: 'To be honest, I don't know. I know that when you talk about referees and say things to referees, it's usually not a good thing. Their work is hard, they also try to make their heir as good as possible.
'What happens, happens. You have to accept the consequences of your actions, that's something I've always stood for.
“I didn't act the way I normally do and if there are consequences, I have to accept them.”
Mahomes was widely criticized on Monday, with FOX Sports' Skip Bayless calling his outburst “spoiled brat behavior” while ESPN's Stephen A. Smith claimed the NFL MVP “embarrassed himself.”
But Travis Kelce subtly hit back and made a joke about the officials during the latest episode of his New Heights podcast Wednesday.
Mahomes said he will accept any fine that might come his way from the NFL
His Philadelphia Eagles center brother Jason said for the first time after the game at the end of the game, “The refs are taking a lot of heat, I think they're taking too much.”
Before Travis then interjected with, “They signed up for it.”
Jason concluded, “When your emotions are involved, sometimes it comes out more aggressively than you intend, and then it leads to more people talking about it and more people becoming divisive about it – and it's just not productive.”
While his comments may have been tongue-in-cheek, Travis did jump to teammate Mahomes' defense amid criticism over his angry reaction to the offside call that denied them a late victory.