During the Kansas City Chiefs’ 23-14 win over the Houston Texans in the divisional round last weekend, fans began speculating about referee decisions favoring the Chiefs, an increasingly recurring theme.
Now, star quarterback Patrick Mahomes has admitted he did wrong by milking a push perhaps a little too much. During one moment in the game, Mahomes ran toward the sidelines after a scramble and appeared to trip and fall as he was pushed out of bounds by Texans linebacker Henry To’oTo’o. Replays showed that he fell a bit harder than the push suggested.
After securing their spot in the AFC Championship game for the seventh time running, Mahomes took time to answer questions during a local radio interview with 96.5 The Fan:
“I would say the only one I felt like I probably did too much was the one on the sideline where I didn’t get the flag,” he said. “The refs saw it and didn’t throw a flag. I understood it immediately and know that I probably shouldn’t have done that.”
But that moment was just one of many controversial incidents from the game. Fans again criticized the referees after they flagged Texans’ Will Anderson Jr. for roughing the passer after hitting Mahomes after an incomplete pass.
Mahomes drew another penalty during a scramble when he ran beyond the line of scrimmage before sliding to the ground, causing two Texans players to collide. Houston was penalized for unnecessary roughness.
He addressed the backlash by saying the following:
“I‘ve kind of learned that no matter what happens during the game, that something’s going to come out about it if you win and you continue to win. So I don’t really pay attention to it. I’ve been on both sides of it as far as how I felt the calls were made, but at the end of the day man, those guys are doing their best to make the best calls and keep it to where the players are making the plays in the game.
That’s what decides the outcome. And obviously there was a call here or there that people didn’t agree with. But at the same time, I think there was a lot of other plays that really decided the outcome of that game.”
The Kansas City Chiefs are set to host the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game this Sunday, January 26th.
