The NFL’s opening weekend rolled on Friday night as the Kansas City Chiefs faced the Los Angeles Chargers in São Paulo, Mexico.
Los Angeles dictated the pace for much of the game and walked away with a 27-21 win over its AFC West rival.
Kansas City entered the matchup shorthanded. Rashee Rice is still serving a six-game suspension, and just minutes into the game, rookie receiver Xavier Worthy left with a shoulder injury after colliding with Travis Kelce on a crossing route.
That left Patrick Mahomes with fewer options, but he still leaned on Kelce for a fourth-quarter touchdown. Hollywood Brown also picked up the slack, leading all Chiefs receivers with 10 catches for 99 yards.
Mahomes added his own spark in the third quarter. Facing a 3rd-and-8 at the Chargers’ 46-yard line, with the Chiefs down 13-6, he broke free to the right and picked up 15 yards. Instead of stepping out of bounds, he lowered his shoulder and leveled corner Donte Jackson. Walking back to the huddle, Mahomes spread his arms wide as if to taunt the defense.
The play set social media ablaze.
“I don’t want to see a single flag thrown this year when he flops out of bounds,” former NFL quarterback Kurt Benkert wrote on X.
now there needs to be a double standard.
— Gavin McHugh (@gavinmchughh) September 6, 2025
defender is clearly letting Mahomes have the sideline..
so now the next time Mahomes flops like a fish when someone touches him near the sideline there shouldn’t be 49 flags
pic.twitter.com/d6ejpMUa72
The Chiefs have often found themselves benefiting from favorable calls, with Mahomes at the center of it. Throughout his career, he’s been accused of lobbying referees to sway decisions in Kansas City’s favor.
The controversy Friday comes down to what fans view as a double standard. Jackson appeared to pull up, wary of being penalized for striking a quarterback near the sideline, while Mahomes took advantage of the league’s protective stance on hits to passers.
With so much attention on how officials handled Mahomes Friday night, future opponents across the league were definitely watching.