Patrick Mahomes gave fans a moment to squint, speculate, and spiral all at once Sunday night.
Just before Kansas City kicked off against the Colts, broadcast cameras caught Mahomes tilting back a small bottle in the locker room. The liquid inside looked pale and slightly yellow under the lights, and that was enough to send the internet running with it. One widely shared clip was captioned, “Patrick Mahomes chugging vodka before the game 😭.”
From there, the reactions piled up fast on X. One fan wrote, “Im so happy I wasnt the only one who saw this and went, ‘Wait..is that??’
😂😂” Another jumped to the correct answer immediately: “That’s def pickle juice.” A third tossed in, “His dad is a bad influence,” while another pushed back on the vodka theory with, “That’s not vodka…”
The truth, as it turned out, was much less dramatic. Reporting after the broadcast confirmed the bottle held pickle juice, not alcohol.
Kansas City’s medical and performance staff have used it for years, and it’s part of the team’s longer-running collection of pregame habits under Andy Reid. Around the NFL, pickle juice has a reputation as a cramp-prevention tool because of its high sodium content, which is meant to help players avoid muscle issues in physical, high-intensity games.
Mahomes has already talked about that same hydration trick before, and teammates have been spotted drinking it on the sideline too. The odd-looking bottle only set off the wave of confusion because of the camera angle and the lighting, which made the liquid look a lot closer to a clear spirit than a sideline staple.
It was another viral Mahomes moment in a season that has already delivered a few of them, from his reaction to a reporter’s ringtone to another unexpected camera shot. This one just took a few minutes to go from eyebrow-raising to fully explained.
In Other News...
Packers May Have Found Pass Rush Help At The Perfect Time
Rookie edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton is already making the kind of first impression that can matter for a defense looking for answers. In a recent game against the New York Jets, he finished with six tackles, half a sack and two quarterback hits, and his work in pressuring the quarterback showed up beyond the box score. Through two games, he has also climbed to 15th among edge defenders in pass-rush win rate, a notable early mark for a player taken 120th in the draft.
For a Packers front that can always use another reliable source of heat off the edge, that kind of start stands out even more because it has come from a late pick outplaying several rookies selected before him. Early production is one thing, but the bigger question is whether Dennis-Sutton can keep forcing his way into the pass-rush conversation as the competition gets stiffer and the league gets more of a book on him. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Suddenly Have A Huge NFC North Opening Before Chicago
The Packers win over the Jets gave them a little breathing room, but the bigger picture in the NFC North still looks unsettled as they head into matchups with the Falcons and Buccaneers. Injuries have thinned out key spots around the division, and that has kept the race from taking shape the way it usually does this time of year. Green Bay has dealt with its own health concerns, but the door is still open for a team that can stay upright and take advantage of the chaos.
Chicago looms next, and that game could end up carrying extra weight if the division keeps wobbling. The Bears, Vikings and Lions are all dealing with issues of their own, which makes every week feel a little more consequential than usual for the Packers. Even before the matchup with Chicago arrives, Green Bay has a chance to keep stacking wins and put itself in position to make the most of an NFC North that has yet to settle into place. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Suddenly Face A Receiver Problem Bigger Than Week 3
Jayden Reeds injury quickly became the kind of scare that lingers well beyond one Sunday, because the Packers are now waiting on what tests in Green Bay will say after he was taken off the field on a stretcher against the Jets. Matt LaFleur said the receiver is back home for evaluation, and while it is still too early to pin down a recovery timeline, the immediate outlook already points to Reed missing Week 3 against the Falcons.
For a Green Bay offense that has leaned on Reeds presence, the bigger concern is how long this absence could last and what it means for a receiver room trying to keep its footing. The Packers can manage one game without him, but the uncertainty around a neck injury has a way of changing the conversation fast, especially when the next step is no longer about one matchup but about how the team will cover for him if the tests lead to a longer pause. [Read more 🡒]