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Patrick Mahomes under pressure in the season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been on the receiving end of some big hits in his career, but in Friday’s season opener he was the one dishing it out.

That has led to some controversy for the Chiefs quarterback.

Mahomes scampered toward the sideline on a third-quarter run and laid a hard hit on Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Dante Jackson just before he went out of bounds. The play drew criticism, with some accusing referees of giving a different standard for Mahomes.

Patrick Mahomes Faces Scrutiny After Hit

Mahomes drew some praise for his physicality on the play, which sent Jackson falling hard to the turf. But it also drew criticism from Eric Wood, the former Buffalo Bills center turned NFL announcer.

Wood noted that other defenders have been flagged for hitting Mahomes near the sideline, but the Chiefs quarterback did not get a penalty for the play.

“If you are going to flag the defender for a big hit on the sideline, QBs can’t do this. Mahomes should be fair game the rest of the game,” Wood shared in a post on X.

This is not the first time that Mahomes faced criticism for his actions on a run to the sidelines. In last season’s divisional-round playoff game against the Houston Texans, he was running out of bounds early in the fourth quarter and took a light shove from a Texans defender. Mahomes fell to the ground, which critics said appeared to be a flop.

Mahomes did not draw a penalty on the play and said afterward that he went a little too far.

“I would say that the only one [where] I felt like I probably did too much was the one on the sideline where I didn’t get the flag,” Mahomes said in an appearance on 96.5 The Fan in Kansas City. “The ref saw it and didn’t throw a flag, I understood it immediately and know that I probably shouldn’t have done that.

“But at the same time, the one that everybody is talking about where I fell down — I was just trying to get out of the way of getting smoked by the defensive lineman running. So, I’ll try to keep doing that and not take those hits, because that’s the smart way to stay in the football game.”

While Mahomes didn’t get a flag after the sideline flop, the Texans were hit with a pair of controversial roughing the passer penalties that drew more criticism. The Chiefs went on to win the game and advance to the AFC Championship game.

Game Featured More Controversy

The sideline hit for Mahomes wasn’t the only controversial moment in the season opener. In the third quarter, Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart slapped Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce following a two-yard run.

Tart was flagged for unnecessary roughness, but officials decided not to eject the Chargers defensive lineman. The decision drew some controversy, though officials ultimately determined that Tart struck Kelce with an open palm and not a punch, which would have led to an automatic ejection.

Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty