Stat About Chiefs, NFL Refs Goes Viral Before AFC Championship
Yesterday at 11:43 AM
The Kansas City Chiefs could go down as one of the most accomplished teams in NFL history, but some observers remain too busy whining about the refs to care.
Kansas City can make its fifth Super Bowl in six years with an AFC Championship Game victory over the Buffalo Bills. Rather than appreciating history, many are bickering about officials giving the AFC West champion a perceived preferential whistle.
The Houston Texans got called for eight penalties during last weekend's 23-14 loss at Arrowhead. A roughing the passer on Will Anderson and unnecessary roughness on Henry To'oTo'o particularly drew ire from viewers who believe Patrick Mahomes gets star treatment.
While there's almost certainly no vast conspiracy to favor the Chiefs, Mahomes has received more protection than his opponents in recent postseason matchups.
According to ESPN's Paul Hembekides, opponents have gotten flagged for six roughing the passers and four unnecessary roughness penalties during Kansas City's ongoing eight-game playoff win streak. During that same stretch, the Chiefs' defense has gotten called for zero roughing the passers and one unnecessary roughness.
Before putting on that tinfoil hat, The 33rd Team also noted some stats regarding Kansas City and officials with a much larger sample size. Since the start of 2018, Mahomes' first season under center, no team has gotten dinged for more penalty yards.
The Chiefs offense is last in Expected Points Added (EPA) on committed penalties. During this stretch, the Chiefs have won 90 regular-season games, four AFC titles, and three Super Bowls.
"I don't feel that way," Mahomes said Wednesday about favorable treatment from officials. "At the end of the day, the referees are doing their best to call the game as fair and as proper as they possibly can. All you can do is go out there and play the game that you love as hard as you can and live with the results."
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the NFL could adjust protocols to help referees next year. The league could add quarterback slides to assisted replay.
Fans who believe the referees favor Kansas City will likely find some play to support their confirmation bias during Sunday's AFC Championship Game.
Related: NFL Expected To Make Change To Replay Review After Patrick Mahomes Controversy
