Getty Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes posing for a photo with his fiancée, Brittany Matthews.
Buffalo Bills fans trying to take a break from football for a few days to avoid mentions of the team’s heartbreaking loss won’t get much respite from celebrity news outlets.
The agony of losing Saturday’s divisional-round playoff game to the Kansas City Chiefs after Josh Allen had given them the lead with just 13 seconds left has drifted to anger for many Bills fans, first toward the controversial overtime rule that prevented Allen from getting a shot to answer the Chiefs and then toward the controversial actions of Patrick Mahomes’ fiance. Her postgame celebration drew widespread condemnation — and led the Bills to catch some stray criticism for the last-second collapse that allowed it — but Brittany Matthews has an answer for her critics.
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Salt in the Wounds
After Mahomes led the Chiefs on a 75-yard touchdown drive to end overtime without the Bills getting a chance to touch the ball, his fiance unleashed an over-the-top celebration that she caught on video and shared on social media. Sitting in a luxury suite in Arrowhead Stadium, Matthews opened a bottle of champagne and sprayed it out of the window and all over the fans sitting below her box.
Her actions drew some immediate criticism, with many in the NFL world uniting to root on the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship the way many supported the Bills to spite the controversial members of Mahomes’ family.
For societies sake the Bengals need to win next week
But Matthew stood by her actions, taking to Twitter on Monday to retweet some who defended her and speaking out about the criticism.
“I just wish I could do what I want without getting attacked every week,” she tweeted.
Mahomes Praised for Classy Celebration
While Matthews was taking a lot of heat for her postgame actions, Mahomes got praise for his on-field interaction with Allen after the game. While Chiefs players were celebrating the win and their fourth straight trip to the AFC Championship game and Bills players were filing back to the locker room, mostly stunned, Mahomes ran close to the length of the field to share some love for Allen.
Mahomes stopped celebrating and ran the entire length of the field just to find Josh Allen ❤️💪 @brgridiron
(via @NFL)
Mahomes shared some public praise for Allen as well, reveling in the rivalry they have created over the past two seasons.
“Josh played his a** off, pardon my language,” Mahomes said, via SI.com. “It was a great game between two great football teams … we’re going to play this team a lot of times in games like this. With that quarterback, with that coaching staff and the players they have, there’s going to be a lot of battles. I’m glad we got this one.”
Allen and Mahomes both had performances for the ages in a game where defenders looked more like statues. Allen completed 27 of 37 pass attempts for 329 yards and four touchdowns — all to second-year receiver Gabriel Davis, setting an all-time NFL playoff record for touchdowns. Mahomes completed 33 of his 44 pass attempts for 378 yards and three touchdowns, adding another 69 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground.
The teams will have a chance to add another chapter to their rivalry next when they face off in Kansas City during the regular season.
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