Most handwringing after the Kansas City Chiefs' 28-18 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday stemmed from the longest run of Patrick Mahomes' career.
Before his game-changing, polarizing 33-yard scramble down the sidelines at Levi's Stadium, though, the three-time Super Bowl MVP was involved in another sequence that drew widespread criticism from fans.
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After throwing an interception early in the third quarter when rookie wideout Xavier Worthy slipped out of his break, Mahomes found himself on the receiving end of a hit to the throat from 49ers defensive tackle Maliek Collins. No flag was issued despite the head referee having a clear view of the incident.
Mahomes, for his part, seems to have no interest in fanning the flames between the Super Bowl rivals any further.
He and Collins are both listed at 6'2'', but Mahomes went out of his way on Tuesday to give his San Francisco foe some height-related benefit of the doubt regardless.
Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes scans the field against the 49ers.
Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
“I mean, I don’t," Mahomes said when asked if he thought Collins hit him on purpose, per Andrew Garcia of ChiefsWire. "I’m hoping that he didn’t intentionally. I don’t think he intentionally tried to hit me in the throat. I think he was trying to just push me in the chest there and he’s taller than me."
Kansas City moved to a league-best 6-0 after beating the 49ers on their home turf. Mahomes and company will be back out West in Week 8 for a clash with the Las Vegas Raiders.
San Francisco, meanwhile, is under water at 3-4, searching for answers amid a rash of health woes before Sunday's primetime matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.
