'A lot of respect for Pat'
Patrick Mahomes took off his helmet and swarmed Travis Kelce after the two Chiefs stars connected for a game-winning touchdown Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium.
The next person who the Kansas City quarterback embraced was on the other team.
Mahomes made a beeline from the endzone toward midfield after the Chiefs punched their ticket to the AFC Championship Game with an overtime win over the Bills. The four-time Pro Bowl selection even shooed off Kansas City teammates along his jaunt. Mahomes was looking for Josh Allen, who was sensational in a losing effort.
The two quarterbacks hugged and exchanged words before going their separate ways. Mahomes making a point to meet up fresh off the heat of battle wasn’t lost on Allen.
“A lot of respect for Pat,” Allen told reporters, per the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. “He throws the winning touchdown and he comes straight over and finds me. To be in that situation and to do that, that was pretty cool of him to do that.”
Mahomes now will try to outduel another one of the NFL’s most exciting young signal-callers Sunday when the Chiefs host Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals with a Super Bowl LVI berth on the line.