If you’re one of those fans who thinks the officials give Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs special treatment, the quarterback of the defending Super Bowl champions has a message for you.
After the officials called a pair of non-existent roughing-the-passer penalties against the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round game (in one of them, two Houston defenders collided with each other and didn’t even touch Mahomes), the criticism came from all sides, and this time I’m not just talking about social media.
Troy Aikman, from the ESPN broadcast booth, couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“Oh, come on!” said the former Cowboys quarterback and now ESPN analyst. “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”.
Rich Eisen talked about the issue on his podcast; other ESPN shows brought the inevitable conversation to their tables; FOX had to talk about it too.
Finally, at Wednesday’s press conference ahead of the AFC Championship Game between Kansas City and the Buffalo Bills, a reporter asked Patrick Mahomes the question: “Do you feel like you get special treatment by NFL referees?”.
The question evidently didn’t sit well with the star quarterback, but he seemed ready for it, like when he anticipates a linebacker’s blitz before the snap.
“I don’t feel that way. I just try to play football at the end of the day”, said Mahomes. “The referees are doing their best to call the game as fair and as proper as they possibly can – and all you can do is go out there and play the game that you love as hard as you can and live with the results. For me it’s to go out there, play hard, try and do whatever I can to win the football game and then live with the results based off my effort and the way that we played the game – that’s what we preach here in Kansas City.”
A second question came on the subject: “As a veteran do you get the benefit of the doubt with referees, or do you feel it has been the same over time?”.
“I haven’t felt any different”, the three-time Super Bowl MVP added. “We get new referees every year and you get new circumstances – you can never really tell because every play is different and that’s what makes the NFL so special. I feel like I’ve just continued to play the game, and I just try to win and whatever happens kind of happens”.
Throughout the regular season, only six roughing the passer penalties were called in Mahomes’ favor, but he quickly racked up two in his 2024 Playoff debut, which only added fuel to the narrative that when it comes to the Chiefs, you have to beat Mahomes and the officials.
Many accounts on Tik Tok make fun of it (I confess that some of those videos have made me laugh a lot) because they consider the way they protect Mahomes to be blatant.
In fact, Texans defensive back Will Anderson couldn’t help but complain at the end of Saturday’s game at Arrowhead.
“We knew it was going to be us versus the refs going into this game”, Anderson said, aware that the NFL would fine him.
The Texans didn’t lose the game because of those penalties, but they felt the refs weren’t being fair at the home of the league’s best team.
On Sunday, we’ll enjoy one of the best games of the season when Josh Allen and the Bills look to beat Mahomes and the Chiefs for the first time in the playoffs, with a ticket to the Super Bowl at stake.
Dear officials, please let the boys play and if anyone touches Mahomes, make sure it actually warrants throwing a yellow flag onto the field.
Neither Mahomes nor the Chiefs need help.
Washington vs. Philadelphia (-6)
Against the spread: Washington 7-3; Philadelphia 5-4.
To beat the Eagles, there’s only one formula: contain Saquon Barkley. In the three
regular-season games Philadelphia lost, Barkley was limited to 95 yards (Atlanta), 84 (Tampa Bay) and 150 (Washington), though only 27 yards in the second half.
Also, Jalen Hurts has a knee injury and will have to play the NFC Championship in a brace, which will affect not only his mobility in the pocket, but his ability to run the ball.
On the other side of the field will be Jayden Daniels, the young man many already consider the best rookie of all time. Daniels hasn’t turned over a single ball in two postseason games and has only been sacked once, statistics that definitely don’t belong to a rookie.
The key in this game will be turnovers. The Eagles and Commanders are the leaders in these playoffs with a +6 differential.
The team with the last possession will likely be the one representing the NFC in Super Bowl LIX.
Pick: Eagles 27-24 Commanders
Buffalo vs. Kansas City
The Bills are 0-4 on the road in the Playoffs under coach Sean McDermott, and have lost seven straight road games dating back to a 29-10 win at Miami in the 1992 AFC Championship Game. One of those losses came in overtime, 42-36 at Kansas City in the 2021 Divisional Round. In fact, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen have met in the playoffs three times and the Bills have not been able to beat the Chiefs. They have in the regular season, with four straight wins, including a 30-21 victory in Week 11 of the 2024 season. That, so far, has been Kansas City’s only loss.
To finally dethrone Mahomes and company, the Bills are going to need three things: clock control, touchdowns and no red-zone field goals, and preventing Travis Kelce from annihilating them.
Last week, against a Texans zone defense, Kelce had 7 receptions, 117 yards (including 49 on one play) and a touchdown.
I know it’s not a good idea to go against Mahomes, but I think the Bills have what it takes to win this game.
Pick: Bills 31-28 Chiefs
Best picks for Championship Sunday:
| Commanders @ Eagles | Washington +6 |
| Bills @ Chiefs | Buffalo +2 |
Best special props:
Passing yards
Jayden Daniels (Commanders) over 225.5 Jalen Hurts (Eagles) under 180.5
Rushing yards
Saquon Barkley (Eagles) over 129.5 Jayden Daniels (Commanders) over 57.5 Jalen Hurts (Eagles) under 31.5
Receiving yards
Terry McLaurin (Commanders) over 65.5
A.J Brown (Eagles) under 61.5
Be ready for the 2024 NFL football season with our NFL Betting Guide and follow every NFL football game with our printable NFL schedule; available for download as a spreadsheet, Google Sheet for the entire season or get every week from Week 1 through Week 18 with free picks.
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