It’s become a pastime for NFL fans to complain about the Kansas City Chiefs getting all the calls. And NFL officials keep giving them reason to complain.
On Saturday, it wasn’t just disgruntled non-Chiefs fans speaking out. ESPN’s Troy Aikman was not at all happy about an unnecessary call on Patrick Mahomes that cost the Houston Texans 15 yards during an AFC Divisional Round game at Arrowhead Stadium.
Mahomes was running around and slipped at the last possible second. Two Texan defenders collided, Mahomes was barely touched, but the penalty was against Houston.
“Oh, come on! I mean, he’s a runner. I can’t disagree with that one anymore. He’s barely touched.” -Troy Aikman
“Both Houston players hit each other. It shouldn’t have been a foul.” -Russell Yurk
“They need to fix it in the offseason…” – Aikman 🏈🎙️🦓 #NFL https://t.co/vXj2v7VTKg pic.twitter.com/QioQ5IQwhg
– Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 18, 2025
That wasn’t the only time the Chiefs benefited from a call. There was a brutal passer penalty on Will Anderson Jr. in the first half in which Anderson barely touched Mahomes. A hip tackle on the Chiefs was not penalized, even though officials rarely called it all season. The call when Mahomes ducked and barely got hit was enough to infuriate Aikman.
“Oh, come on,” Aikman said on the show as the call was made.
“He’s a runner. I can’t disagree with that one anymore and he’s barely touched,” Aikman said. “This is the second penalty called against the Texans.”
It’s worth noting that Aikman is a former quarterback. They usually stick together, but the call in Houston was so bad that Aikman had to defend the defensive players.
ESPN rules analyst Russell Yurk also said it was a bad decision.
“Troy, I agree with you. There is no forced contact with his head and neck,” Yurk said. “Both Houston players hit each other and it shouldn’t have been a foul.”
The Chiefs continued to move the ball downfield after that call and Mahomes hit Travis Kelce for a touchdown and a 20-12 lead. Just before that TD pass, Aikman continued his disregard for the rules protecting QBs on a play where Mahomes was pushed out of bounds. This time, no penalty was imposed.
More Aikman.
“He’s trying to get the penalty. Rather than going out of bounds, he slows down. And that’s the frustration and I understand. I understand that. That’s the frustration of these defensive players in the league.” https://t.co/rzfAXSaz6o pic.twitter.com/LilHhaI2Bh
– Awful Announcement (@awfulannouncing) January 18, 2025
The Chiefs are a great dynasty. On Saturday, most of the discussion focused on the number of calls received from officials. This probably isn’t the look the league wants.
