Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes initially didn't notice broken helmet, said backup 'was frozen'

Seven years into a career that has featured two NFL MVPs, two Super Bowl titles and a laundry list of accomplishments, Patrick Mahomes still encountered a first on Saturday.

The conditions at Arrowhead Stadium were ripe for a unique outcome, as the minus-4 degree temperature at kickoff between the Kansas City Chiefs and visiting Miami Dolphins in a wild-card matchup made for the NFL's fourth-coldest game ever on record. In that frigid setting, Mahomes encountered an equipment setback that left him in an unfamiliar spot.

On a second-and-7 play with 9:25 remaining in the third quarter, Mahomes scrambled right and barreled ahead for a 13-yard gain. As he lowered his head, he was met by Dolphins safety DeShon Elliott, with the two players engaging in a helmet-to-helmet collision that sent a piece of Mahomes' crown flying.

Mahomes was able to play for two plays with the damaged helmet before officials made him seek out a replacement.

“I was very unhappy because my helmet’s warm and it cracked ... and I put the other helmet on, and it didn’t fit at all," Mahomes said in an interview after the Chiefs' 26-7 victory. "It was sitting out in the cold all day long.” 

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

The quarterback didn't initially notice the missing piece.

"I didn't know what happened in the moment, but I got in the huddle and everybody was telling me," Mahomes said in his postgame news conference. "And I was like 'I got y'all, but I'm not coming out (of) the game. … It was a first for me."

Mahomes added it took some maneuvering to get the backup helmet to the point where it could be worn.

"We gotta talk about where we store the backup helmet because it was frozen," Mahomes said. "When I tried to put it on, it was completely frozen. I couldn't get it on. I don't know if anyone got a picture of it. It didn't look great. But we were able to adjust it on the sideline and get it warmed up a little bit and get rolling from there.

In the divisional round, the Chiefs will either face the Houston Texans, who beat the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, or the Buffalo Bills, who will host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday in a game that was postponed due to severe weather.