Chiefs’ Penalty Situation Sparks Debate
Chiefs coach Andy Reid didn’t directly tell his team to avoid penalties, but his subtle hints to the referees seemed to have made an impression—whether intentional or not.
Following a dismal game last week where the Chiefs were penalized 13 times in their loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Reid did make a few pointed comments about the officiating during his postgame remarks. “We had 13 penalties compared to their four,” he noted. “It doesn’t really matter if I agree with them; they were called. Sure, you can commit all these penalties, lose field position, and still play hard, but at the end of the day, it’s the score that counts.”
Fast forward to the next game, and things looked drastically different.
The Chiefs had no penalties in a convincing 30-17 win over the Lions.
Seems pretty standard, right? I mean, teams just go from 13 penalties one week to 0 the next, easily—don’t they?
Not quite. Fans were actually frustrated that the Chiefs didn’t have any infractions, pointing out several instances where penalties should have been called against them.
For example, after a touchdown, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes appeared to rile up defender Brian Branch, which some thought warranted a penalty.
Additionally, Travis Kelce was involved in a clear holding that went unnoticed by both the officiating crew and the broadcast team.
A montage circulated showing various missed calls in the game, including a questionable catch by Kelce and another holding call on an offensive lineman while Mahomes was scrambling.
Also, JuJu Smith-Schuster’s clear block from behind on Branch went unpunished, inciting a skirmish toward the game’s end. It’s worth noting that while Branch’s reaction was uncalled for, the block itself should have drawn a flag.
For those who believe NFL teams rarely face penalties, consider this track record:
The Chiefs have now been responsible for 25% of the 12 games without penalties in the past six years. This starts to look a bit unusual, doesn’t it?
To be fair, Chris Jones of the Chiefs was penalized, but the Lions declined the call. Still, that doesn’t quite overshadow the numerous missed calls that factored heavily into the game.
