No NFL playoff matchup so far has sparked more outrage than the Kansas City Chiefs’ divisional round victory against the Houston Texans, when Patrick Mahomes received two controversial calls that went his way during the game.
The first was a soft roughing the passer penalty on Texans’ Will Anderson Jr. in the first quarter, and the second was an unnecessary roughness penalty on two Texans defenders who the refs thought hit Mahomes as he was giving himself up.
In the wake of the NFL’s latest officiating debate, Mahomes shared his honest take on being at the center of growing controversy over the Chiefs arguably receiving preferential treatment this postseason.
“I’ve kind of learned that no matter what happens during the game, something is going to come out about (the refs) if you win, if you continue to win,” Mahomes told Carrington Harrison on The Drive. “I don’t really pay attention to it. Obviously, I’ve been on both sides of it as far as how I’ve felt that calls were made. But at the end of the day, those guys are doing their best to make the best calls and keep it to where the players are making the plays in the game and that’s what decides the outcome.
“Obviously, there was a call here and there that people didn’t agree with, but at the same time I think there were a lot of other plays that really decided the outcome of that football game.”
Mahomes finished the game with 177 passing yards and one touchdown—not his most impressive playoff outing by any means, but he did enough to help the Chiefs clinch their seventh consecutive AFC championship berth. The Chiefs’ defense and special teams unit also put in the work to block a field goal and sack Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud eight times.
Mahomes did mention one play from the game he wasn’t proud of: His embarrassing flop.
“I would say the only one I felt like I probably did too much was the one on the sideline where I didn’t get the flag,” continued Mahomes. “The ref saw it and didn’t throw a flag, I understood it immediately and know that I probably shouldn’t have done that.”
The Chiefs will face the Buffalo Bills in the AFC title game at Arrowhead on Sunday, a do-or-die matchup in which fans can probably expect more officiating controversy.
Mahomes and Josh Allen have been the beneficiaries of a combined 172 unnecessary roughness or roughing the passer penalties since 2018, according to NFL Ref Stats. Clete Blakeman, the ref assigned to the game, led the NFL in calling unnecessary roughness penalties in 2024.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Patrick Mahomes Candidly Addressed Controversial Calls in Chiefs’ Win vs. Texans.