National Football League

Was Patrick Mahomes' spat with Eric Bieniemy meaningless?

Updated Sep. 30, 2022 4:55 p.m. ET

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy were caught exchanging contentious words during the team's 20-17 loss to Indianapolis this past Sunday.

The story didn't end there, of course.

Social media — as it is wont to do — took the footage of Mahomes offering choice words to his OC and coach Andy Reid and ran with it, unleashing a slew of speculation on the possibility of a larger problem within Kansas City's locker room.

But "The Herd" host Colin Cowherd didn't want to hear any of it, arguing Friday that the spat was nothing to ruminate over.

"Sometimes the appropriate answer is, ‘Who cares?'" Cowherd said. "Don't give a story oxygen, don't feed the media. … So Eric Bieniemy and Patrick Mahomes had this little skirmish … and I thought Bieniemy had a great answer [later]. 'Who cares? This is what we do.' Players and coaches bark all the time. By the way, Tom Brady got in the face of Josh McDaniels and was screaming at him. It was on tape, and they won the Super Bowl that year. A coach can't occasionally get a player riled up? Players are yelling at coaches all the time.

"I saw a player for the Jets last week get in the face of a coach. Who cares? … I thought Bieniemy nailed it. … Dispassionate, indifference bothers me. Very rarely does passion get under my skin, or worry me."

Eric Bieniemy isn't sweating Patrick Mahomes spat: 'Who cares?'

Colin Cowherd breaks down why Eric Bieniemy's response to his argument with Patrick Mahomes was the appropriate answer.

Mahomes and his offense notably struggled in Week 3. After erupting for five touchdowns in Week 1, followed by 235 yards and two scores in Week 2, Mahomes completed just 57.1% of his throws with one TD and an interception versus Indianapolis.

Before entering the locker room at halftime, Mahomes appeared to take exception to conservative playcalls late in the quarter as he confronted Bieniemy. For Cowherd, it was typical workplace behavior that just so happened to be caught on camera.

"All of us work in certain industries," Cowherd said, "We are insiders. … And then there are outsiders, and often outsiders can't believe what's going on. And I'm always like, ‘Who cares? We know what we’re doing.' Same in football … 99% of people in America do not do their job on camera. Football players do. … So sometimes people are just outraged — as outsiders — by things they see.

"Remember Ken Dorsey, the coordinator for the Buffalo Bills? Everybody's freaking out, ‘I can’t believe this.' I can, they're coaches. Remember how the other coaches reacted to Ken Dorsey freaking out? It's like it didn't even happen. They yell and scream all day. You're an outsider, you're not an insider, you have no idea of the swearing, intensity, passion. … You think that's the first time that's happened?"