Breaking News: “It did its job,” says the helmet manufacturer for Patrick Mahomes in response to the controversial crack.

Patrick Mahomes’ helmet crack on Saturday night’s Wild Card round game against the Dolphins (26-7) is an image that will be engrained in football fans’ minds for a long time. Now VICIS, the manufacturer of the ZERO2 model worn by the Chiefs star has made an official statement regarding the incident.

“Extreme conditions like those experienced in Saturday evening’s NFL playoff game are bound to test the limits of even the highest performing products,” the company wrote Tuesday in a post on social media from its official account. “While outer shell damage is not ideal, the ZERO2 helmet did its job of protecting Patrick Mahomes during a head-to-head impact in unprecedented cold temperatures.”

In what was the fourth coldest NFL game on record, the QB’s attempt at forcing his way into the end zone was met with safety DeShon Elliott and gave way to the helmet breaking. The helmet to helmet collision that followed with the Dolphins players resulted in shards of Mahomes’ helmet flying in the extreme temperatures at Arrowhead Stadium.

VICIS continued its statement, assuring its “multi-layer technology” was crucial in the quarterback’s safety. According to the manufacturer, the “design approach is similar to the crumple zone of modern cars, effectively absorbing and dispersing impact forces at the point of contact”.

Speaking to reporters after the Chiefs Wild Card round win, Patrick Mahomes said he has never “seen that happen to a football helmet before.” He also said he didn’t realize his helmet was broken until the next play’s huddle when his teammates told him.

“I’m sure it had to do with it being really cold. I didn’t know it happened in the moment, but I got in the huddle and everybody was telling me. I was, ‘I’m not coming out of the game’.” The Chiefs star then humorously expressed the frustrations that followed: “They have a backup (helmet) that’s out there. We have to talk about where we store the backup because it was frozen – when I tried to put it on it was completely frozen. I couldn’t put it on”.

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