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Patrick Mahomes is not buying the idea that the Kansas City Chiefs is getting favorable treatment from the referees. “I don’t feel that way. You get new referees every year. You get new circumstances, and you never can really tell because every plays different, and that’s what makes the NFL so special,” Mahomes said of the chatter. But the uproar is there for a reason. There have been just too many instances in their last two games. First, come to the game against the Texans.
During the first quarter of the Texans-Chiefs game, Will Anderson Jr. was flagged for roughing the passer. It was a hit that ESPN’s rules analyst Russell Yurk vehemently disagreed. On the broadcast, Yurk said, “It looked like that first contact was to the upper chest area. I didn’t see anything there that supported a foul.” Later, Mahomes drew a penalty on Texans linebacker Henry To’oTo’o after sliding late. That call legitimately had Troy Aikman fired up in ESPN’s booth.
“Aw, come on,” Aikman said. “He’s a runner, and I could not disagree with that one more. He barely gets hit. That’s the second penalty now that’s been called against the Texans.” Making the matter even more intriguing, the NFL later announced that neither Anderson nor To’oTo’o would be fined for their hits. That’s a clear indication the league didn’t find those hits to be that bad. Well, we can not blame if anyone says that this was the League’s silent admission of being partial. The game against the Bills was no different at all. In the first half when Mahomes had just thrown a deep pass aiming at Xavier Worthy. He and Bills safety Cole Bishop leaped into the air to catch it. However, replays showed that they weren’t able to hold onto the football with it briefly touching the ground.
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But the referees ended up giving Worthy that catch while placing the Chiefs on the 6-yard line. From there, Mahomes led the Chiefs to a TD drive, which was capped off by a 1-yard TD run. This gave the Chiefs a 21-10 lead and a 5-point cushion before going into the second half. Yeah, Mack Hollins and James Cook TDs gave the Bills a 22-21 lead. But yet another controversial call took the game away from the Bills. When it looked like Josh Allen managed to convert a 4th-and-inches during the 4th quarter, the NFL officials again stepped in.
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They didn’t reward the first down, which could have taken the Bills into field goal territory. Instead, the Chiefs got the football back, and five plays later, Mahomes scored a 10-yard TD. That 6 points and a 2-point conversion gave the Chiefs a 29-22 lead, which they never relinquished. However, despite the narrative that has engulfed the Chiefs on their run to the Super Bowl LIX, Andy Reid isn’t obliged to pay attention to any of that. On Thursday morning, when Reid was asked to share his thoughts about the referees’ offering them favorable decisions. Reid had a pretty simple answer against those calls.
“I think everything balances out. You’ve got a human element with the officials. They try to do their best job. They take a lot of heat. One way or the other. Coaches take a lot of heat one way or the other. I don’t pay much attention to it,” the coach said. But wait, a shocking stat was recently brought out by ESPN that might only fuel the conversation further. Here you go.
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via Imago
Sport Bilder des Tages NFL, American Football Herren, USA Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp Jul 24, 2023 St. Joseph, MO, USA Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes 15 and head coach Andy Reid watch drills during training camp at Missouri Western State University. St. Joseph Missouri Western State University MO USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xDennyxMedleyx 20230724_jcd_sm8_0087
According to the graphic, since 2021 the Chiefs have had a massive penalty advantage in the playoffs:
- The Chiefs have just 36 team penalties, while their opponents have 66
- The Chiefs have 319 penalty yards, while their opponents have 541
- The Chiefs have had more penalties than their opponent zero times in 10 postseason games since 2021
- The Chiefs have had more penalty yards than their opponent just one time in 10 games
So, does the league have anything to do about it? Looks like, there have been ripples. ESPN insider Adam Schefter announced before the Chiefs’ matchup with the Buffalo Bills that NFL replay assist could expand next season to include things such as the quarterback slide. Interestingly, you may also recall that three years back, the overtime rule was changed for the playoffs after the Chiefs beat Buffalo 42-36 in an AFC Divisional game.
Also, Last year, Sports Business Journal reported that the league was testing optical tracking technology that would involve a camera-based system. Human decisions involving first-down markers, backward and forward passes, punts, ball placement, intentional grounding and more could all be tracked. A microchip could also be placed inside footballs, allowing instant movement tracking across the field. The call this year again intensified after the Bills’ loss.
“In my 24 years on television I have said the words MICROCHIP IN THE BALL a hundred times,” ESPN’s Tony Reali tweeted on January 27. “I do not understand how the greatest league in the world still has a guess method. Eye balling, from 30 yds away, trying to squint through a mass of humanity and walk in a straightish line to where it was, even when the other guy from the other sideline is somewhere else.”
If the NFL does place a microchip in footballs to add highly detailed tracking on the field, it would rival instant replay as the biggest technological advancement the sport has ever seen. So, considering how refereeing may have cost the Bills a spot in the Super Bowl. Mahomes was asked about his thoughts on a possible change in first-down calls.
Patrick Mahomes gave his take on a possible scheme to avoid controversial calls
Let’s take a trip back to 2021 when Patrick Mahomes had a suggestion for the NFL. Mahomes, on the WHOOP podcast, emphasized how the NFL needs to use microchips on footballs to end controversial decisions. “I’ve always thought the chip in the football has to happen sometime, where if you cross the line. It just tells you a TD.”
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He also pointed out a certain situation where those football chips would be the most handy, “The biggest thing to me is when they get in the pile by the end zone. There is literally no way to tell if he’s in the end zone or not.” Well, something very similar happened on Sunday night. Allen’s first down was also erased because there wasn’t enough video evidence that the football crossed the line.
So, with those talks again emerging from the shadows. Mahomes was asked to share his take on whether football chips can sort this situation out. See, the Chiefs QB, this time, feels it’s not about the chips or any new technology—It’s all about precision, “At the end of the day, you have to go out there and make it clear and obvious that you get the first down, or you get the touchdown, and you wanna do that, and then you don’t have to worry about, replay or anything like that.”
Maybe this could also work if you are as good as Mahomes. If not, then you should probably pray for a football chip next season. Only that could help in avoiding controversial calls either on first downs or red zone scores.
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Are the Chiefs just lucky, or is there something fishy with those favorable calls?
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