Are the Chiefs getting more than their share of calls?
By
Douglas Fritz
NFL fans who don’t like the Kansas City Chiefs seem to be in an uproar about their winning ways. And so, predictably, they’ve exploded about the officials. The claim is the officials favor Patrick Mahomes — even though the NFL office defended recent calls. But here are two reasons why fans need to shut up about the officials supposedly favoring the Chiefs.
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce combined to torment the Texans, and the Chiefs earned a 23-14 victory, sending the two-time defending Super Bowl champions to the AFC title game for the seventh straight season.
Notice the keyword in that sentence: Earned. The Chiefs didn’t get a gift. The Texans didn’t get robbed. On this day, the Chiefs proved to be the better team and moved forward.
No. 1
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes isn’t getting all the calls
Watching an NFL game is highly dependent on a person’s viewpoint. If fans don’t want the Chiefs to win, they might see what they want to see. And if something goes against the Chiefs, it’s considered fair. If something goes for Kansas City, the refs must be cheating. And while that’s not the overriding mindset for most people, it brings that little shred of doubt. And it makes things seem worse than they are.
Here’s a good example of perspective from ESPN’s Bill Barnwell:
“In my columns and on social media, I’ve written about how the conspiracy theories surrounding calls going the way of Mahomes and the Chiefs are mostly bunk,” Barnwell wrote. “There are reasonable explanations for why he draws conspicuous penalties — extending plays, simply throwing more and playing more often in prime time than anybody else. And the tortured logic used to create a conspiracy doesn’t hold up against any semblance of logic.
“(For example), the Chiefs drawing a pass interference penalty on fourth-and-16 to extend the game and eventually beat the Bengals in Week 2 sure seems fishy … until you remember the same refs called an illegal use of hands penalty on Kansas City to wipe out a fourth-and-6 conversion on the previous play.”
The sad part of this is how this year’s AFC Championship game could end. There could be a play literally as bad or even worse than this from the 2018 season NFC championship game. The Saints clearly got hosed here.
That could happen to the Chiefs this year. And what would many NFL fans say, “You deserved to lose that way after all the calls you’ve gotten for three years.” That, if I may borrow from Barnwell, is BUNK.
When something that egregious happens at the end of the game, it’s hard to say it somehow didn’t alter the outcome. And the Chiefs historic chase should not end that way.
The Chiefs haven’t gotten more than their share of calls, and that’s the bottom line. Since 2018, when Mahomes took over as starting quarterback, the Chiefs are the 10th MOST penalized team in the NFL. They would move up to No. 6 if they had 12 more penalties over that seven-year span. So the volume argument is off the table.
No. 2
NFL doesn’t gain monetary benefit if Chiefs win again
Most conspiracy-theory fans would say the Chiefs just get the calls when they need them. It’s fourth and three and the Chiefs are trailing, and Mahomes throws an incomplete pass. Flag. Defensive holding. First down.
The replay rolls and the defender nearly rips the receiver’s shoulder pads off. But the fans whine and still say it’s unfair.
Yes, the Chiefs got a break. But it’s bad defense, not unfair officiating.
In truth, the Chiefs stand less of a chance to get a critical call in their favor as they head toward a possible third straight title. That’s because the NFL doesn’t want there to be any question about the officials’ integrity.
Even if the don’t say it out loud, the officials are human. They know people think the Chiefs are getting more calls their way, or key calls their way. So in the split second of a pass interference call that would go for the Chiefs, would an official be more or less likely to throw his flag? Or would he hesitate and eat it?
Human nature says he eats it, if it’s a near 50-50 call. That’s because the NFL bends over backwards to avoid any hint of one-team favoritism.
Think about it. The NFL is raking in money, hand over fist. The dollars pour into the league. It doesn’t matter if the Chiefs, Bills, Eagles, or Commanders win this year. The NFL is going to soak up money like a giant green sponge.
NFL loves to protect The Shield
A tarnished image is the only way for NFL damage. That happens in situations likes the Rams-Saints game. Circumstances turn the focus away from the winning team to who got “cheated.” People get upset and turn away from the NFL. They stop buying merchandise. Ut-oh. That’s no good.
The absolute best thing for the NFL this postseason would be a scenario like this. Mahomes drives the Chiefs 90 yards for a go-ahead touchdown with 59 seconds left on the clock. It caps a 350-yard passing day with four touchdowns.
However, Josh Allen of the Bills authors a 99-yard drive in the final 59 seconds. On the last play of the game, he throws a 25-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone as he’s about to run out of bounds. That gives Allen 350 yards passing and his fourth touchdown. Bills win, 34-31.
All people would talk about for the next two weeks would be the great quarterback showdown. And how Allen finally climbed Mount Mahomes with no mention of officials. It would be great for the NFL.
Please notice Taylor Swift didn’t enter this debate. Well, now she did. Somebody make it stop.
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