DeMeco Ryans paused just before launching into the Backstreet Boys' hit song “Everybody” while subtly criticizing NFL officials.
The Texans' head coach, carefully trying to avoid fines while getting his message across, said in Saturday's 23-14 playoff loss to the Chiefs that his team is playing simply a second-straight Super Bowl champion. He made it known that he was more than just a person. AFC division round.
“Going into this game, we knew it was us versus everyone,” an exasperated Lyons said immediately after the game. “When I say everyone, I mean everyone. Everything, everything. Everyone. The naysayers, the doubters, yes, everyone we had to deal with today.”
The Texans were called for two significant penalties on the Chiefs' scoring drive. The rough play on the passer in the first quarter and unnecessary rough play in the third quarter led to 10 points.
Will Anderson hit Patrick Mahomes high on third-and-eight, but replays showed he hit the ball with his shoulder pad and not his helmet. Eliminated an incompletion that could have led to a punt.
Late in the game, Mahomes was scrambling on a broken play that started off a falling snap.
He gained 9 yards before sliding late and giving himself up as Foley Fatukasi and Henry Tootoo'o converged.
The two Texans dove further than Mahomes and collided with each other, but Tootoo was flagged.
The rule is intended to protect quarterbacks, but Mahomes was a runner at that point.
ESPN color commentator Troy Aikman, postgame analyst Ryan Clark and the game's officiating experts disagreed with either opinion.
“When we go into his games, we can’t make the mistakes we made because we know what kind of opponent we’re playing against,” Lyons said. “We had a lot of self-inflicted mistakes. … You get married that it was going to be a really tough, uphill battle on top of everything else we had to deal with. ”
Ryan's not-so-veiled insinuations only fuel conspiracy theorists who think the Chiefs, megastar Taylor Swift's boyfriend Travis Kelce, and Mahomes, the face of the league, are indebted to a friendly whistle. is.
The Texans gained 82 yards with eight penalties, while the Chiefs gained 29 yards with four penalties.
