Patrick Mahomes criticises Justin Tucker over the warmup controversy: ‘Under our skin’
Patrick Mahomes is now sharing his side of the AFC Championship Game warmup story.
On Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium, as the Chiefs and Mahomes prepared in one of the end zones, Ravens kicker Justin Tucker was spotted nearby with a helmet, warmup balls, and a kicking tee.
Tight end Travis Kelce objected to Tucker’s proximity to the Chiefs, so he booted the ball and kicking tee before hurling his helmet to the side.
While Tucker has denied any wrongdoing and stated that it is nothing out of the ordinary before NFL games, Mahomes stated in a radio interview Tuesday that the only incidences similar to this one have occurred against the same opponent.
“I’ve had like seven years of kind of doing that same warmup routine and there’s only been like three occasions where there’s been a kicker that wasn’t… necessarily moving out of the way or you weren’t sharing the field in the right way,” Mahomes said in an interview with 610 Sports Radio in Kansas City, Kan. “It was in Baltimore all three times.”
Mahomes said that he would just let things play out, but Kelce jumped in to move the gear out of the way.
“[Tucker] does that little stuff, I think to try to get under our skin,” Mahomes went on to say. “I asked him to shift his belongings. He stood up and moved it about two inches, but not far enough to clear the way. I was going to let it slide, but Travis stepped in and moved it for me. And after that, I was not going to let him put it back down.”
But Mahomes did say he had “a lot of respect” for Tucker, who has five All-Pro nominations and a 90.2 percent field goal percentage.
Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker prepares for the AFC Championship game versus the Kansas City Chiefs at M&T Bank Stadium.
Justin Tucker, a kicker with the Baltimore Ravens, warms up before the AFC Championship Game against Kansas City.
USA TODAY Sports via Reuters.
He went 1-for-1 on field goals in the Ravens’ loss to the Chiefs on Sunday, bringing his career postseason total to 18-for-22.
“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,” he said. “But at the same time, you’ve got to have respect for each team, and we all share the pitch, and we try to do that in a respectful way.”
Tucker stated on Monday that his warm-up act was not intended to cause controversy.
“I’m totally willing to let it go,” the seven-time Pro Bowler told reporters. “But that’s what I’ve been doing for the past 12 years, and I’m not out there trying to be difficult. I’m simply getting ready for the football game, just like they are, and that’s all I have to say about it.
