Staff Writer Abyan Memon discusses the recent success of the Kansas City Chiefs, and why many teams feel it’s unearned due to poor NFL decision-making
Almost two years ago, in what was one of the best quarterback showings in recent Super Bowl history, Patrick Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs to a second Super Bowl win in just four years.
A year and a back-to-back Super Bowl wins later, the Chiefs have started the season 9-0 and currently stand as the only undefeated team. Their squad including the likes of record-breaking quarterback Patrick Mahomes and, renowned one and off the field, wide receiver Travis Kelce. However, many believe the Chiefs have not fairly earned thistitle.
Super Bowl 57 (2023)
After being down 10 at halftime, Kansas City led the ball game with about 12 minutes on the clock. 7 minutes later Patrick Mahomes’ team was marching down the field into Eagles territory with a chance to stick a dagger into the endzone.
Philadelphia’s defence came close to stopping the drive with enough time for a crucial Eagles possession. However, a defensive penalty was called on James Bradberry. The penalty call received heavy criticism from the NFL fan base and has become a focal point of conversations regarding the refs favouring the Chiefs.
2024 Season
Week 1, vs the Ravens, a 27-20 win for the Chiefs. With 9 seconds until halftime, the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo ran down the sideline toward the ref waving his arms for a timeout.
According to Rule 4, Section 5, Article 1 of the NFL rulebook a timeout can only be called by “the head coach or any player (not a substitute)”. The refs granted the Chiefs the timeout and the Chiefs swayed the game in their favor.
Furthermore, the Ravens believed there was a bias in penalty calls. They were hit with five illegal formation calls, while the Chiefs received none, despite both offensive lines lining up in a comparable fashion.
Jumping into Week 2, biased calls continued for the Chiefs. On what would end up being the game-winning play, a Bengals player was held by 2 Kansas City linemen – the play went unflagged by the refs. On the same play, the defender on the target receiver was hit with a pass interference call for bumping his man.
During Week 3, with the roles reversed, the Falcons attempted a game-winning pass against the Chiefs. The Chiefs defender jumped into the receiver’s body and wrapped his arms around him. Neither was the receiver able to make the catch nor did the refs call pass interference.
Week 4 saw another 4th quarter flag in favour of the Chiefs. This time the flag was not only late, but the refs also called the wrong numbers.
Of course, there is an argument to be made in favor of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. For a team that has seen so much recent success in terms of both landing in the win column and landing spots on nationally televised games, it can be argued that the greater degree of attention may be a cause for certain calls being perceived as more frequent for Kansas City than other teams.
Unfortunately for the Kansas City fan base, the numbers are not in their favour. Patrick Mahomes has the most interceptions called back across the league since 2018.
Is there any truth to the accusations? Are the Kansas City Chiefs being unfairly favored by the NFL refs? Or are 31 NFL fan bases just jealous of the Chiefs’ success?
