A single hit can destroy a dynasty. The Kansas City Chiefs learned that brutal truth last season, plummeting to 6-11 and missing the playoffs for the first time in over a decade without Patrick Mahomes. Protecting his rehab was Andy Reid’s top offseason priority. But during Week 3 against the Miami Dolphins, time stood still. A heavy blow in the endzone brought Chiefs Kingdom’s worst trauma rushing back in an instant. Luckily, Mahomes cleared the air quickly.

“I’m doing great, you know, it was like a natural chiropractor, so I felt better after the game, so I’m doing fine,” Patrick Mahomes said after the game during a press conference.

Despite Mahomes downplaying the impact, the moment that preceded his comments nearly sent shockwaves through Kansas City. With under three minutes remaining in the third quarter of the Chiefs’ 24-10 victory, Kansas City was backed up deep at their own 5-yard line. Mahomes dropped back on third-and-9, looking for Rashee Rice downfield. Just as the ball left his hand, Dolphins edge rusher Chop Robinson exploded through the offensive line, hitting the star quarterback shoulder-to-chest and driving him straight into the Hard Rock Stadium turf. Mahomes lay shaken on the grass for a brief, heart-stopping moment before slowly getting up.

“No, he got me. He got me pretty good,” Mahomes admitted during his post-game media scrum. “They brought a good stunt with the D-line, and I tried to get the ball out of my hand. When you throw the ball, you’re kind of exposed, and he got me pretty solid. But I was able to bounce back up there, and we went out there and finished that drive.”

Yellow flags flew before Mahomes even touched the ground. Officials slapped Robinson with a 15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty for landing with his full body weight, a call that instantly reignited heated debates across the league. Instead of an incomplete pass forcing a dangerous punt from their own end zone, the Chiefs were gifted a fresh set of downs. Kansas City capitalized on the extended drive, culminating in a 34-yard Harrison Butker field goal to stretch their lead to 17-10.

The penalty sparked immediate uproar among fans and analysts. Replays clearly showed Robinson making clean contact to Mahomes’ chest, avoiding any hit to the head or neck. To many viewers, the pass rusher did everything short of breaking physics to cushion the fall, extending his arms toward the turf to absorb the blow. Former NFL star Richard Sherman echoed the frustration on social media, questioning what more a defender could possibly do in real time.

However, CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore defended the crew’s call, pointing directly to NFL Rule 12, Section 2, Article 11. Steratore explained that while Robinson extended his hands, his momentum still drove his full body weight through the quarterback, a strict violation under modern passer protection rules. Controversy aside, the Chiefs escaped without another catastrophic injury update. When head coach Andy Reid took the podium, his reaction reflected equal parts comic relief and lingering adrenaline from the hard hit.

“Yeah, I think it’s more than a chiropractor can do; I think every bone in his body cracked in that one, but he got back up, and he kept firing,” Reid said after the game against the Dolphins.

But this was surely concerning for the team, which lost Mahomes to an ACL tear last season.

On December 14, 2025, Patrick Mahomes injured his left knee late in the Chiefs’ 16–13 loss to the Chargers. He hurt the knee while trying to extend a play near the sideline with less than two minutes left. Mahomes immediately grabbed his knee, needed help getting up, and was helped toward the locker room. An MRI later confirmed that he had torn his ACL, and the Chiefs also confirmed an LCL tear.

The injury ended Mahomes’ 2025 season. On December 15, he underwent surgery in Dallas to repair the torn ACL, with the procedure also addressing the LCL injury. But now he is making sure he uses all of his time to show his game on the field. The Chiefs are already at 3-0. He also showed a decent game against the Dolphins. He completed 20 of 24 passes for 246 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He also made a big play with Travis Kelce, who caught a 48-yard pass and helped set up Kenneth Walker III’s 10-yard rushing touchdown.

However, the Chiefs defense still had some problems during the game. Their defense limited Miami to 10 points but failed to record a sack. Kansas City also committed eight penalties for 50 yards. The Chiefs went through a long scoreless period from the end of the second quarter until the start of the fourth quarter. That’s exactly what Mahomes and the team would like to avoid in future games.

“Obviously, we didn’t play to our standard, especially in the middle part of the game, from the second to the third quarter,” Mahomes said after the game. “But we found a way to come together at the end of the game. Now it’s about learning the in-between.”

Along with focusing on the team’s success and his performance, Mahomes is also making major headlines off the field.

Patrick Mahomes off-field success

Away from football, Patrick Mahomes is also benefiting from the growth of his business investments. He and his wife, Brittany Mahomes, are part of the ownership group of the Kansas City Current. The NWSL club is now estimated to be worth around $320 million, while a Forbes-based report valued it at about $325 million in 2026, up from $275 million in 2025.

The quarterback joined the ownership group in 2022. His involvement made him the first active NFL player to own a stake in an NWSL team. Since then, the club has continued to grow both as a business and on the field.

The Current also recently picked up a 4-1 win over Denver Summit FC on September 26. Haley Hopkins scored three goals for a hat trick, while Temwa Chawinga scored once. The result added another positive moment for the club as its value and profile continue to grow.

This way, Mahomes is making major developments beyond football. Now, Week 4 brings another challenge for him in the form of the Raiders.