A young Kansas City Chiefs supporter nearly fell onto the pitch during Sunday’s game, only to be saved by the quick reactions of reserve defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton.
After the Chiefs’ narrow 30-27 victory over the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, players were making their way towards the tunnel when a young fan, wearing a #32 Nick Bolton jersey, tried to get Wharton’s attention.
The boy tripped on a wire and was heading for a nasty fall when Wharton swiftly caught him. “Oh ****, oh ****,” one spectator can be heard exclaiming in the background.
Despite the drama, another fan continued to chant “Kelce, Kelce.”in hopes of securing an autograph or memorabilia. A security guard eventually restored order, shouting “Back to your seats, back to your seats, everybody go back to your seats, this kid just fell.”
Wharton, who went undrafted out of Missouri SandT in 2020 before joining the Super Bowl champion Chiefs, helped the youngster back into the stands.
Wharton might have missed a significant portion of the Chiefs Super Bowl LVII run after an ACL tear during the 2022 season, but he certainly left his mark before that with a pivotal sack on Ravens’ Lamar Jackson in the preceding AFC Championship. Rebounding this season, Wharton has tallied 19 tackles, 2.5 sacks and forced a fumble across 11 games.
On Sunday, he added two tackles and put pressure on quarterback Bryce Young. The game was a nail-biter, with Kansas City sealing the deal with a last-second field goal for a victory.
Reflecting on close games, Patrick Mahomes, former MVP, shared: “You always want to have some blowouts and be a little calmer in the fourth quarter,” but he also acknowledges the benefits: “[At the same time] I’ve always said it could be a good thing when you get to the playoffs later in the season knowing that you have been in those moments before, and knowing how to attack it play by play not making it too big of a moment.”
