NFL to investigate Patrick Mahomes helmet that cracked in Chiefs-Dolphins

Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president, reported Thursday that league engineers are examining quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ helmet, which cracked in the wind-chilled wild-card game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins. to 30 degrees Celsius below zero.

“Obviously the conditions during that game were extreme and could have contributed to the collapse of that case,” the executive said.

The incident occurred on Jan. 13 in the Chiefs’ 26-7 win over the Dolphins at Arrowhead Stadium, home of Kansas City.

It happened in the game in the third quarter; Mahomes broke out of the pocket in a run toward the end zone, collided helmet-to-helmet with DeShon Elliott a few yards from the end zone, an action that dislodged part of the quarterback’s helmet, something that in theory should not have happened. to happen.

Officials told the quarterback he couldn’t continue with his broken protection on the field, so Mahomes went to the sideline to put on a backup helmet, which took a few plays to adjust to.

The NFL requested the helmet from the Chiefs to find out if the cold caused it to crack or if it was a manufacturer defect.

“We want to know how helmets perform not only in optimal situations for playing football, but also in extreme situations,” said Jeff Miller.

Despite this incident, the league’s vice president emphasized the NFL’s confidence in the safety helmets provide for its players.

“This is something that happens very rarely and we are grateful for it. The work that manufacturers have done to create better and better helmets with more and more advanced technology is impressive,” he concluded.