'Us Against The Refs' - Texans Star Blasts NFL Officials After Playoff Loss
01/18/2025 08:52 PM
Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans was very diplomatic in his postgame press conference when addressing the issue of the officiating in his team's playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. was not.
The referees in today's Divisional Playoff Round game threw several flags that went against the Texans in the Chiefs' 23-14 win that ended Houston's playoff run. One of those calls was a roughing the passer call against Anderson in the first quarter that extended a stalled Chiefs drive. The Chiefs would go on to score a field goal on that drive. An unnecessary roughness penalty in the second half helped lead to a Chiefs touchdown that effectively put the game out of reach for the Texans.
Following the game, Ryans declared that they knew the game would be "us versus everybody - and I mean everybody," and did his best to avoid calling out the refs directly.
Anderson did not.
Speaking to the media, Anderson called it like he saw it, declaring that the team knew it would be "us against the refs" going into the game at Arrowhead Stadium.
"We knew it was going to be us against the refs going into this game," he said.
"We knew it was going to be us versus the refs going into this game."
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 19, 2025
Goodell is sprinting to hand Will Anderson a fine
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There has been no shortage of people slamming the referees over the officiating in the game and how it impacted the game. As a result, plenty of people online are praising Anderson and the other members of the Texans for standing up for themselves and telling it like it is:
"Good for him. Who cares about the fine. Has to be said," one user wrote on X.
"Will Anderson is just saying what everyone is thinking," another said.
"Everyone knew it all along and finally the players are speaking it out loud," wrote a third.
Not everyone is on Anderson's side though. There are plenty of fans who believe that blaming the officials is just a cowardly way of not taking responsibility for losing.
But while there are certainly plenty of reasons that the Texans lost that game beyond just the officiating, it's hard to deny that the refs dished out some extremely soft calls that only went against players going after Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Do you agree with Anderson?
Related: Texans Head Coach DeMeco Ryans Calls Out NFL Refs After Playoff Loss To Chiefs
