Texans DE Will Anderson Jr. breaks down infamous Patrick Mahomes 'flop' in playoff loss

USA Today

20-07-2025

Six months ago, Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. made headlines in the divisional round against the Kansas City Chiefs for a hit that seemed to favor the NFL's poster boy.
Now, he's telling his side of the story.
In an interview on the Ross Tucker Podcast, Anderson confirmed suspicions that plagued Texans fans in Arrowhead Stadium, stating his hit on MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes during the first quarter was clean.
"I hit his chest, I hit his chest, but I just got to be better," Anderson told Tucker. "Me and my coach and talked about it. We've got to be better just when it comes to how you hit the quarterback and we got to drill it more and stuff like that."
On the second drive of the game, the Texans were trying to force a quick three-and-out. On third-and-8, Anderson brushed over Mahomes' chest as he released the pass, which should have resulted in a punt. Instead, Anderson was flagged with a roughing the passer call, which tacked on 15 yards and placed Kansas City in Houston territory.
"I don't even know if you touched him or not, dude, he snapped his head back like he got whiplash in a car accident going 70 miles an hour," Anderson said.
The hit eventually led to a scoring drive and a 23-14 loss, though it wasn't even the most egregious call of the afternoon. Houston mounted a comeback, bringing the game within one entering the fourth quarter. On another third down, Mahomes scrambled for a first down and began to slide to avoid contact from defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi and linebacker Henry To'oTo'o.
The two Texans ended up colliding with each other, nearly knocking each other out of the game, but officials instead called it an unnecessary roughness penalty, tacking on 15 yards and a first down, which led to the eventual game-winning touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce several plays later.
"I think it's for everybody's safety...when these runners are running, quarterbacks are running and for defensive players, how are we fixing the safety on both sides of the ball to make the game safer for everyone," Anderson said. "But like I said: we've got to do a better job defensively of how we are attacking our tackling and stuff like... our head placement. We'll work on it this offseason and get it fixed."
As Anderson put it, officials are looking to protect quarterbacks rather than focusing on proper plays. Everything must come down to an exact science to avoid the flag from the zebras.
"You've got to be perfect in the playoffs," Anderson said.