The helmet of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) breaks while being hit by Miami Dolphins safety DeShon Elliott (21) on a run in the third quarter during an AFC Wild Card Playoff game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, in Kansas City, Missouri. (Emily Curiel/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The NFL is looking into an incident involving reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes.

The Chiefs quarterback helmet cracked open during a Wild Card round win over the Miami Dolphins two weeks ago. That may have been because of the colder-than-usual temperature, with the game starting off as the fourth-coldest in NFL history.

It could have been because of the angle of the helmet-to-helmet collision between Mahomes and Miami safety DeShone Elliott, or a combination of both. But the NFL wants to know for sure.

A piece of Patrick Mahomes' helmet came flying off. 😮 pic.twitter.com/m2bFObIhnq

— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC)

January 14, 2024

The league has revealed having taken possession of the helmet for the purpose of a study.
“We have the helmet,” Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president for communications, public affairs and policy disclosed on Thursday, per ProFootballTalk. “Our engineers have the helmet and they are examining it and talking with the company about what may have caused that.

“Obviously the conditions were extreme and may have contributed to the potential failure in that case.”
The minus-4 temperature at the start of the game, as well as the minus-27 wind chill, may have very well been the cause. However, if there was something else at play, the NFL doesn’t want to have to find out the hard way.