Patrick Mahomes certainly has no reason to complain.
The Chiefs' three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback says he and his Kansas City teammates have routinely benefited from generous whistles from the referees, including during Saturday's regional-round win over the Texans. He disregarded general public opinion.
Mahomes induced two questionable 15-yard penalties and scored 10 points on two drives during Saturday's 23-14 win.
“I don’t really care because I’ve kind of learned that no matter what happens during the game, if you keep winning and keep winning, something will happen.” Mahomes told 96.5 The Fan. Transcribed by the Kansas City Star. “So, obviously I was on both sides as far as I felt the calls were made, but at the end of the day, they made the best calls and are doing their best to keep it that way. ” Where a player is making a play in a game.
“And that's what decides the outcome. And obviously there were calls here and there that people disagreed with, but at the same time, I think there were a lot of other plays that really decided the outcome of that football game.”
Like the Patriots before them, fans believe the league's dynasty team receives more than its fair share of generous cheering from the Zebras.
Mahomes, in particular, is known to benefit from some of the 50/50 calls on hits that some speculated would not be called against shorter quarterbacks.
Some Houston players even admitted that they believe they're not just playing 11-on-11 while trying to beat a team with back-to-back championship hopes.
“We knew this game was going to be a battle between us and the referees,” Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said. According to the Houston Chronicle.
There was a reason the Texans felt that way after two big calls put them at a disadvantage. The first was a roughing the passer call on Anderson to wipe out a third-down incompletion.
Anderson made slight contact with Mahomes' helmet when hitting Mahomes and after the ball was released, but some wondered if the referees might have missed it.
NFL senior vice president of officiating Walt Anderson said Sunday that officials would “probably” throw a flag if there was head contact.
A second call nullified the first-down sack and ultimately led to a Travis Kelce touchdown that gave the Chiefs a 20-12 lead in the fourth quarter.
The Texans believed they sacked Mahomes at their own 30-yard line in a 13-12 game, but referees flagged Houston for being unnecessarily rough as he scrambled.
The hit looked worse than it actually was, with two Texans defenders hitting each other while Mahomes dodged the hard hit.
Troy Aikman ripped the call on air, but ESPN rules expert Russell York said he shouldn't have been penalized.
“Oh, come on, I mean, he's a runner,” Aikman said. “I can't agree with this anymore. He hardly ever gets hit.”
The Chiefs took advantage of the flag and made a field goal to take a 6-3 lead.
Mahomes defended his actions on that play.
“Everyone's talking about where I fell, but it was like I was trying to avoid getting smoked by a running defensive lineman,” he said, according to the Kansas City Star. “So I'm just going to keep doing that and try not to get hit because that's the smart way to stay in the game of football.”
It doesn't help Mahomes to say the referees made the wrong call, but he can at least acknowledge that he could have handled a particular play in the fourth quarter that was accused of flopping better. Ta.
Mahomes slowed down on his way to the sideline and decorated after a defender connected with him and fell to the ground.
However, the referee did not flag the hit.
“I think the only time I felt like we probably went too far was when we didn't get the flag on the sideline and the umpire saw it and didn't throw it. It just made sense to me right away,” according to the Kansas City Star. , Mahomes said, “I know I probably shouldn't have done that.”
Mahomes and the Chiefs will look to make their third consecutive Super Bowl appearance when they host the Bills on Sunday night in the AFC Championship Game.
Kansas City is a small favorite for MVP candidate Josh Allen.
