Things got tense on the Kansas City Chiefs sideline as Patrick Mahomes was seen having a heated exchange with offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy during the first half of the team’s Week 4 game against the Las Vegas Raiders. CBS showed a clip of Mahomes and Bieniemy having a tense exchange.
It is unclear exactly what was at the center of the verbal altercation between Mahomes and Bieniemy.
CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson revealed that head coach Andy Reid attempted to downplay the exchange. Reid pointed to “frustration and competitiveness” as the source of the disagreement.
“Speaking with Andy Reid, in terms of the back and forth between Eric Bieniemy and Patrick Mahomes, he said that is just frustration and competitiveness,” Wolfson reported ahead of the start of the third quarter during the Chiefs-Raiders game.
“He said you have to score though when you get down there (red zone) and what it comes down to is they need to play better.”
Here’s a look at the exchange that has NFL fans’ attention.
The Chiefs offense struggled to score to start the game, posting just 10 points in the first half against the Raiders.
Patrick Mahomes Has Been in Favor of the Chiefs’ Decision to Bring Back OC Eric Bieniemy
Mahomes has consistently praised Reid’s decision to bring back Bieniemy as the team’s offensive coordinator. The Chiefs quarterback believes Bieniemy brings an added intensity back to Kansas City practices and meetings.
“Even though it’s hard — there’s hard days — they know why we’re doing it,” Mahomes said of Bienemy’s return during the Chiefs OTAs in June, per The Athletic’s Jesse Newell.
“I think you can see the guys, they want to be great, and they want to be better than we were last year. And so we’ve had a good start to these OTAs.”
The Chiefs Offensive Line Struggled to Protect Patrick Mahomes vs. Raiders
Jim Nantz and JJ Watt speculated on the broadcast that Mahomes could be frustrated by the offensive line’s performance against the Raiders. The CBS announcers revealed that Travis Kelce was also animated on the sideline.
Heading into the season, Bieniemy praised Mahomes’ ability to quickly rehab from a season-ending ACL injury and be ready to play Week 1.
“I am not shocked nor surprised we are here addressing this— when I came in to this building on that first day, I saw him working and I said welp he’ll be ready,” Bieniemy said of Mahomes during a September 11, media session.
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