This year, the Kansas City Chiefs are 5-0 while the New York Jets have a 2-3 win-loss record. The record for consecutive Super Bowl winners would have been different had the Bengals not been flagged for defensive interference. Then, the fans stormed the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes, and the league officials. Now, an incident from last year has popped up.

Linebacker Jermaine Johnson was involved in this incident. It was the week 4 game between both teams in 2023. During the 4th quarter, Patrick Mahomes was on 3rd and 23. As soon as he got the ball, he had enough time to pass the ball. But what caught everyone’s eye was Donovan Smith holding onto the Jets’ linebacker.

Johnson even had a hand out while trying to get off the hold. However, when he managed to grab a referee’s arm, the ref just pushed his hand out. It allowed Patrick Mahomes to complete the first down. Now, after a year, he commented on an Instagram post that showed the visual, “😂😂😂😂😂I actually thought I was getting a call.” The video made the fans laugh hysterically.

There’s one thing about this. Most rival fans (sometimes, even members of Chiefdom) say that the refs usually support the team. Patrick Mahomes himself has been the blue-eyed boy. There’s a popular stat that in his 6 years career, 17 interceptions of Mahomes have been overturned compared to the same interceptions in 23 years of Tom Brady.

It’s a twisted fact. We checked and found out who was the most favored athlete in the league.

Is Patrick Mahomes the most favored athlete by league officials?

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell compared the numbers of players across different teams. His study concluded with an additional fact that deviated from the norm. He claimed that not the Grim Reaper, but Joe Burrow, was favored more. Barnwell found that while the Chiefs QB had 1 interception overturned every 452 passes, Burrow’s interception was overturned every 327.7 passes.

Somehow, not only the fans, but many players also feel the same. They believe that the Chiefs often get the support of refs. Cowboys‘ Micah Parsons also talked about the week 2 game (Chiefs vs Bengals) on The Edge podcast and said, “A lot of calls went both ways, and I’m going to be honest… I felt like the refs did favor the Chiefs a little bit more.” His doubts were amplified later.

After the week 4 game between the Chiefs and Falcons, NFL insider Albert Breer claimed that the team, particularly Patrick Mahomes, was getting Michael Jordan treatment. This led to some backlash from fans. However, his talent could not be overlooked.

After winning back-to-back Super Bowls, the team is eyeing a 3-peat. Can they do it? Stay tuned for more stories.