Hilarious moment Patrick Mahomes races into dad mode to cover daughter Sterling's eyes as she tries to look straight at the solar eclipse... after the Chiefs star held her up to watch it

Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes played the role of protective parent Monday as he shielded his young daughter Sterling from the solar eclipse. 

The Great American Eclipse saw the moon block the sun for more than 180million people on Monday and the quarterback joined millions of Americans in donning multicolored glasses to witness the phenomenon. 

His wife Brittany shared a video of Mahomes and their daughter Sterling, 3, in their protective glasses as they looked up at the sky to catch the eclipse. 

However, the youngster appeared to be overly-excited by the cosmic display and didn't realize how essential the eyewear was. 

In another post on Brittany's Instagram story, Sterling could be seen tottering around their patio before stopping to look up at the sun again without the protection of the glasses. 

Mahomes immediately launched into dad mode as he raced over to his toddler and covered her eyes to protect them from the bright light.

He later shared a photo of Sterling looking mesmerized as she took in the experience - this time with mom Brittany making sure she wore her glasses in the background.

'Mood,' he captioned the post on X, before later adding: 'That was crazy not going to lie.'

The total solar eclipse brought America to a standstill on Monday as millions stopped work, paused classes and flocked to the streets and city rooftops to view the rare event.

After sweeping northeast through Mexico and then Texas, Arkansas and Ohio shortly before 2pm, crowds gathered in New York City and Washington DC hoping to catch a glimpse.

The Super Bowl winner was just one of several stars taking in the solar eclipse, joining the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Jessica Biel, Kelly Osbourne and Irina Shayk. 

Meanwhile, NFL teams across the country chose hilarious ways to mark the solar eclipse, with Aaron Rodgers and Jalen Hurts among those starring in comical social media posts.

The New York Jets posted a picture on X, showing Aaron Rodgers decked out in sunglasses. It was accompanied by the caption: 'eclipse ready'.

The Giants, meanwhile, posted a short clip on social media which showed the moon blocking the sun - with a twist.

'Don’t look directly at the eclipse, too sexy for your eyes,' the Giants wrote. Once the moon had crossed over the sun in the video, however, it illuminated the face of Dexter 'Sexy Dexy' Lawrence II.

Down in Dallas, the Cowboys uploaded a photograph of tight end Jake Ferguson wearing eclipse glasses, while the Eagles posted a picture of Jalen Hurts in shades.

'Don't forget your safety glasses this afternoon,' Philadelphia's account said. As well as Hurts, the post also included a picture from SpongeBob SquarePants, when one of the character's eyes are burning.