'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs silenced all their critics with a 17-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC championship game. However, an incident involving the Chiefs' quarterback, Travis Kelce, and Justin Tucker made headlines just before the game.
After the Ravens' kicker was seen stretching around the area where Mahomes was practicing, Kelce stepped in and threw away Tucker's helmet and footballs. The video was recorded by James Palmer, and it went viral instantly.
The Chiefs star received a lot of backlash from the fans for it, and recently, Tucker also gave his thoughts on the situation. While the 34-year-old kicker meant no harm, Mahomes believes that the former was trying 'to get under' their skin before the game.
As per NBC Sports, the Chiefs quarterback said:
“He does that little stuff, I think to try to get under our skin. I asked him to move his stuff. He got up and moved it, I think, two inches but didn’t move it out of the way. I was gonna let it slide, but Travis got in and moved it for me. And after that, I wasn’t gonna let him put it back down.
"I have a lot of respect for him as a player, one of the best kickers of all time, probably the best kicker of all time. But at the same time, you’ve got to have respect for each team, and we all share the field, and we try to do that in a respectful way.”
Although the two players undoubtedly have mutual respect for each other, the incident that occurred before the AFC championship game was not as fun as many assumed it to be. Patrick Mahomes tends to derive motivation from such confrontations, and his altercation with Tucker certainly helped him play with a chip on his shoulder in that game.
Patrick Mahomes was exceptional against the Ravens
Despite that early distraction, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce handled business perfectly. Mahomes completed 30/39 of his throws for 241 yards and a touchdown, while Kelce had 11 receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets.
As for the Ravens, their offense, led by Lamar Jackson, was not able to execute things against the Chiefs' defense, and they were able to score just 10 points at home.
Mahomes played an error-free game against the Ravens, and that was enough for the formidable Chiefs' defense to feed on. Chris Jones, George Karlaftis, and the secondary led by L'Jarius Sneed made multiple plays throughout the game and made life tough for Jackson and Co.
The Chiefs will face the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl, and Patrick Mahomes has the opportunity to win the third Super Bowl of his career. Mahomes is 3-0 against the 49ers in his career, and it will be interesting to see what happens on February 11th in Las Vegas.
