The Colts won the overtime coin toss in Sunday's Week 2 game against the Chiefs, but Patrick Mahomes caused some confusion when he spoke out anyway.
There was a reason for that.
Safety Cam Bynum was serving as captain for the Colts. And when he called tails to win the toss, he responded, "defer." Now, in the pregame coin toss, you're supposed to say "defer" instead of "kick" in order to have that choice in the second half. But in the regular season, there's just one overtime period. There's nothing for the Colts to defer to.
So, when Mahomes heard Bynum say "defer," he took that as the Colts giving Mahomes the choice for overtime. Referee Craig Wrolstad didn't allow Mahomes to take advantage of that technicality, though.
Patrick Mahomes tried tricking
the Colts into taking the ball first in overtime 💀 pic.twitter.com/CetBQ0ltj1
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) September 21, 2026
After the game, Mahomes told reporters that he wasn't displaying any gamesmanship. He noticed that Bynum said the wrong thing and thought the choice should have deferred over to the Chiefs.
@kctv5 Patrick Mahomes isn’t gonna let that slide. He’s sticking to the rules — and plans to do everything to win every game. Even if it’s a little sneaky. #kc #chiefs #arrowhead #chiefskingdom #mahomes
♬ original sound - KCTV5
In the end, it didn't matter as the Chiefs got a second possession in overtime and won, 33-30.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Patrick Mahomes explained why he spoke up after the Colts won the OT coin toss
