LOOK: Patrick Mahomes’ helmet shatters after QB takes vicious hit in cold weather playoff game vs. Dolphins

When you play a football game in sub-zero temperatures, you’re going to see some crazy things happen and some crazy things definitely happened during Saturday’s wild-card game in Kansas City. 

With a kickoff temperature of minus-4 degrees — the fourth-coldest game in NFL history — the game produced plenty of moments that you don’t usually see: Water was instantly freezing, Andy Reid’s mustache grew icicles and Patrick Mahomes‘ helmet partly SHATTERED after the Chiefs‘ quarterback took a vicious hit during the third quarter. 

On a second-and-7 play from Miami’s 16-yard line, Mahomes couldn’t find anyone open, so he decided to take off. The Chiefs quarterback was able to gain about 12 yards before he got drilled at the 3-yard line by Dolphins safety DeShon Elliott. 

Elliott’s helmet made contact with Mahomes’ helmet, which caused a chunk of Mahomes helmet to break off. 

At that point, the officials probably should have stopped the game so Mahomes could get a new helmet, but instead, they let the Chiefs run another play, and as you can see below, Mahomes was missing a solid chunk of his helmet on the play. 

The helmet almost certainly shattered due to the frigid temperatures. 

Mahomes told reporters postgame that he didn’t realize his helmet was broken until teammates told him, and that he wanted to stay in the game even with a cracked helmet.

“I didn’t know what happened in the moment but I got in the huddle and everyone was telling me, but I was like, ‘I got y’all, but I’m not coming out of the game, so we can figure it out on the sideline,'” Mahomes said. “It was a first for me.”

The aftermath of the play was slightly confusing, because not only was the Chiefs QB allowed to stay on the field, but Elliott didn’t get flagged for a helmet-to-helmet hit and Mahomes wasn’t forced to leave the game to be checked for a concussion. As NBC rules analyst Terry McAuley noted, at the minimum, Mahomes should have been forced to leave the game for at least one play to get a new helmet. 

The Chiefs ended up getting a Harrison Butker field goal on the drive to push their lead to 19-7. If you want the latest updates from the battle between the Chiefs and Dolphins, be sure to check out our live blog by clicking here.