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The producer of the helmet that Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes shattered throughout their AFC wild-card recreation with Miami says it “did its job” by defending the league MVP “throughout a head-to-head affect in unprecedented chilly temperatures.”
The sport Saturday night time was the fourth-coldest in NFL historical past. The temperature at kickoff was minus-4 levels Fahrenheit, and winds gusting to greater than 25 mph made the wind chill strategy minus-30 in the course of the recreation.
“Excessive circumstances like these are certain to check the bounds of even the highest-performing merchandise,” Certor Sports activities, which makes the Vicis Zero2 helmet that Mahomes was carrying, stated in a press release Wednesday.
Mahomes was scrambling towards the tip zone within the second half of the Chiefs’ 26-7 victory when he was hit by Dolphins security DeShon Elliott. Their helmets clashed and, probably due to the intense chilly that made the outer shell brittle, a fist-sized chunk went flying from Mahomes’ helmet simply above the face masks masking his left eye.
“They’re testing it proper now,” Mahomes stated Wednesday, “however I’m adamant on getting the helmet after. It’s one thing that’s cool, I’ll be capable to hold for a very long time. Like they stated, it did its job. I used to be completely tremendous after.”
The Vicis Zero2 makes use of a proprietary multilayer know-how that creates a “deformable outer shell,” the corporate stated, and that’s wrapped round a stiffer inside shell. The design is just like that of automobile bumpers, which could look like cheap plastic at first look however are in truth engineered to soak up and disperse power on the level of affect.
The Zero2 line, which incorporates particular fashions for linemen and quarterbacks, held the highest 5 spots in testing this season by the NFL and NFLPA. The helmets additionally ranked extremely in unbiased evaluations at Virginia Tech.
“It’s uncommon for a soccer helmet to crack a shell, however we’ve had occurrences right here within the lab, and we typically check at ambient temperature,” stated Barry Miller, who helps direct the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab. “When you requested a soccer equipment-room supervisor, chances are you’ll discover a totally different reply, as they see tons of helmets with loads of impacts.”
Vicis was based in 2017 and shortly turned a venture-capital darling, elevating greater than $85 million from present and former NFL gamers that included Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, and Jerry Rice. And with a deal with innovation, the corporate produced helmets that ranked No. 1 in NFL and NFLPA testing from 2017-19.
However the firm struggled to compete with established producers Riddell and Schutt, and that took a toll on its funds. Cofounder and CEO Dave Marver resigned in November 2019, the corporate’s board of administrators voted to position it in receivership the next month, and greater than 100 staff had been laid off in an try and keep away from chapter.
Innovatus Capital Companions purchased the belongings of Vicis in 2020, and it was included into Certor Sports activities, which additionally produces the Schutt model of helmets and Tucci, which produces wooden and metallic baseball bats.
Vicis has continued to innovate on the subject of helmet design. Just a few years in the past, the corporate relaunched the Zero2 platform of helmets that Mahomes was carrying, and launched the Trench, a helmet designed particularly for linemen.
“Vicis helmets are extensively examined in high-impact circumstances throughout a variety of temperatures,” the corporate stated. “We’re dedicated to persevering with our growth of the most secure helmets in soccer, and dealing with our companions within the NFL and different organizations to always achieve information and repeatedly advance protecting know-how.”
The NFL has been beneath stress for years to enhance participant security, which led to stronger concussion protocols, and a few of that stress has been handed on to helmet producers to design gear that higher handles the forces of affect. Way back to 2016, the NFL pledged $100 million to participant security that included the “Play Secure, Play Good” initiative.
Mahomes stated he’d by no means had a helmet shatter on him—“It was a primary for me,” he stated. And he didn’t instantly know {that a} shard had damaged free till he returned to the huddle Saturday night time and teammates started pointing it out to him.
Mahomes initially performed on with the damaged helmet earlier than officers intervened and made him get a backup from the sideline. However the backup had been sitting within the excessive chilly all night time, and it was tough for Mahomes to get on his head. It took some work with gear managers on the sideline between collection to lastly get it snug for him.
“Now we have to speak about the place we retailer the backup as a result of it was frozen,” Mahomes stated with a smile. “It didn’t look nice. We had been capable of regulate it on the sideline, get it sort of warmed up a bit, and get rolling from there.”
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