During the brutally cold Wild Card round showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins, Patrick Mahomes faced a pretty concerning situation when a chunk of his helmet broke off following a hit to the head. And it sounds like the NFL is going to try to get to the bottom of what happened to cause the helmet failure.
Last week, NFL Executive V.P. Jeff Miller announced that the NFL was going to work with the helmet manufacturer to try to determine what went wrong with the helmet.
“Obviously the conditions were extreme and may have contributed to the potential failure in that case,” Miller said according to Pro Football Talk. “We want to know how the helmets perform not just in optimal situations but in extreme situations.”
It’s a pretty significant bit of news that the NFL is investigating this matter, and the NFL world had a lot to say about it on social media.
nfl has engineers yet we still have old guys carrying chained sticks to measure distances? https://t.co/itpiXbpkbS
— #BoilerUp (@LancerUWM) January 25, 2024
It’s not that hard to figure out. It was cold. Ive seen people break off frozen car door handles just by pulling gently on them. Mahomes had a hard collision.
— Mike (@MikeDoffing) January 25, 2024
They need to because I have never seen one crack before.
— Michelle Small (@Sidsgirl87) January 26, 2024
Like having jaws investigate missing surfers
— m (@goffnotgoof) January 25, 2024
It was -degrees. Mystery solved.
— Patrick Moore (@pmoore8230) January 26, 2024
Why wasn't he fined for lowering his head and creating impact with the crown of his helmet?
— Jeremy (@jeremyn1974) January 25, 2024
Despite the obviously concerning situation regarding Mahomes’ helmet in this game, Miller did express confidence in the league’s helmets in most circumstances.
“It happens so seldom, and we’re grateful for that,” Miller said. “The work the manufacturers have done to create better and better helmets with each succeeding helmet is impressive.”
It will certainly be interesting to hear what this investigation ultimately concludes.
