Patrick Mahomes dodged Buffalo Bills defenders while leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a divisional round playoff win — and after the game, he was dodging snowballs from angry Bills fans.
Video taken after the 27-24 loss to the Chiefs showed some Bills fans taking out their frustrations by lobbing snowballs at the Chiefs quarterback, who ducked his head to avoid the projectiles while greeting a fan on the sidelines. The clip led to some sharp criticism toward Bills fans, with some taking aim at the treatment they saw as “disgusting.”
Patrick Mahomes ‘Pelted’ by Bills Fans
As Pro Football Talk reporter Michael David Smith noted on X, Mahomes was making his way to a Chiefs fan after the game when nearby Bills fans “pelted” him with snowballs.
“Patrick Mahomes spotted a young fan wearing a 15 Chiefs jersey, ran toward the stands to greet him, and was pelted with snowballs by Bills fans,” Smith wrote.
Many were angered at the clip, calling out Bills fans for the “disgusting” behavior toward Mahomes.
DISGUSTING: #Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes spotted a young fan wearing his jersey so he tried to go over to him but was then PELTED BY SNOWBALLS from #Bills fans, per @MichaelDavSmith.
😳😳😳
So unclassy. Immature. And nauseating.
pic.twitter.com/vJCsdhuCmR— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) January 22, 2024
Other videos showed Mahomes dodging more snowballs as he ran off the field and down the tunnel to the locker room.
Patrick Mahomes – the man who has led the Chiefs to 6 AFC Championship Games in 6 seasons – runs off field a winner again with unhappy snowball-yielding Bills fans greeting him. pic.twitter.com/WxCgrtLbd1
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) January 22, 2024
The Bills had been hit by two major winter storms over the course of the last two weeks, with the weather forcing the team to push back their wild-card matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers the previous week. The team put out a call for local residents to help shovel excess snow out of the stadium, but there were still large piles of snow throughout the stadium during Sunday’s game.
Some fans also tossed snowballs during the game. Video showed a piece of snow flying toward Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling during a second-quarter incompletion in the endzone.
CLASSLESS: #Bills fans are throwing snowballs while #Chiefs players are attempting to catch the ball….
This is dangerous and unfair. pic.twitter.com/0VwqGwKILz
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) January 22, 2024
Chiefs Quarterback Addresses Fans
Before facing a shower of snow, Mahomes had some praise for the hostile atmosphere at Highmark Stadium. The win over the Bills was the first time Mahomes had gone on the road in the playoffs in his career, and the first time he played in Buffalo in front of fans. The Chiefs also traveled to Buffalo in 2020, but played before an empty stadium as COVID restrictions were still in place.
“First off, this is a great environment, man. It really is,” Mahomes told CBS reporter Tracy Wolfson on the field following the game, via NFL.com. “But we did hear it all week about playing a road game, and we’re here to prove a point and show that we can play anywhere.”
Afterward, while speaking to reporters in the locker room, Mahomes noted that his team had a lot of adversity to face while on the road but praised his teammates for coming together to overcome the obstacles.
“I love being at Arrowhead,” Mahomes said. “I love being at Arrowhead and playing in front of that crowd. But when you’re on the road, it’s you versus them. It’s you versus everybody in the stadium, and you have to come together as a team and let guys do that. You saw that in the game today.”
