Does he gets calls from officials? Sure. But it's obvious the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback has crawled into the brains of all other 31 teams. He's the mountain you must climb. He's special.
I can’t hate them either like I, with a passion, hated the Pats. For me it’s two reasons. 1. Reid seems like much less of an ass than Belichick (it’s a low bar I know). 2. Mahomes consistently makes plays no one else can that you just have to admire. I still don’t “get” Brady. Obviously he was one of the best ever but I don’t remember even a single “wow” moment from him. I’m sure there were but I can’t recall any. The play I remember him the most for is the “tuck rule” fumble which just gave me another reason to hate. 😀. I’m really looking forward to this game. Eagles just had better be up by 2 scores if Mahomes is the last one to get the ball.
Nice column! Am I biased? Sure I am (Chiefs fan since 1990 & I write Chiefs Chronicles on Substack), but I loved hearing it from the Bills point of view. That James Cook quote was 100% correct- with a team like the Chiefs you can’t leave it in the hands of the refs and hope you win. You want to beat the Chiefs? Then you can’t just lean on what’s worked for you all season. If the Bills had gotten just a little bit more aggressive/creative with their play-calling, things could’ve very well worked out in their favor. During the game, I honestly thought they were going to win.
Do the Chiefs sometimes get benefit of the doubt/“Protect the Face of the League” penalties? Absolutely. Every superstar player/great team in every league gets/has gotten those from time to time. It should also be noted, though, that there are terrible calls in literally EVERY game in the NFL. It’s amazing how people hyper-focus only on calls that go the Chiefs way. I’ve tried explaining the scope and impossibility of keeping a conspiracy that big a secret, but true believers in the Mahomes/Kelce/Reid/Swift/Satan Pentaverate won’t listen to reason.
There are two penalties (I’m sure there were many more) that went against KC before they became a dynasty that are burned into my brain- the ridiculous Chris Jones roughing penalty that took away a strip sack/fumble recovery against the Raiders (the Chiefs won anyway) & the egregiously horrible call by Jeff Triplette (who Chiefs fans had long claimed was biased against the Chiefs and who retired after that game) in the Chiefs playoff loss to the Titans in the 2017 playoffs. His absurd call that Marcus Mariota’s forward progress was stopped, took away a Derrick Johnson sack/forced fumble (that the Chiefs recovered) and continued a drive that led to a Titans FG in a game that the Chiefs lost by a single point.
Bad calls happen all the time, but there’s something else at work for the Chiefs that people tend to ignore. In the playoffs, every aspect of that team, from players to coaches to the lowest Gatorade person (do they have a job title?) cranks up to a level that other teams can’t seem to match. The Chiefs always seem to make not only that one extra play that their opponent can’t, but also enough fewer mistakes to make a difference in the outcome of the game. Good coaching counts for a lot and Chiefs have probably the greatest Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator duo in the history of the league, not to mention one of the best Special Teams coaches ever.
Combine that coaching with Patrick Mahomes (who is well on his way to becoming the greatest QB in NFL history), Travis Kelce (probably the best TE in NFL history, all things considered), ascending and dynamic speedster WR Xavier Worthy, a great interior O-Line (love the trio of Thuney/Humphrey/Smith!), Chris Jones (often under appreciated but a dominant DT on a HOF trajectory), a very young All-Pro CB in Trent McDuffie, solid up and coming players (like “Furious” George Karlaftis), and good role-players (too many to list) filling out the rest of the starting Offense and Defense and you’ve got a recipe for great success.
As for me, I’m just trying to tune out the anger and Chiefs hate. I was a loyal and patient fan for 25+ years, waiting and hoping for this success (never imagining this level of success, TBH) and I’m going to enjoy it for as long as it lasts.
If you continuously push the limits and try to get away with every infraction you can, is that outsmarting the opposition or cheating? A bit of both I think and both Belichick's and Reid's teams are masters at it. It's part of a hyper competitive championship mindset that both Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes have. I think Josh Allen has it too but there's none of that in the Bills coaching staff.
But what if the point was force calls in favor? I don't believe in the "cheating" either, but it's hard to look past some bad calls. Especially after they are reviewed. Did they get called bad twice? Maybe. But what if there is a different dynamic? What if the Chiefs purposefully incorporate pulling fouls to make a game? Has anyone gone through the season to quantify their yards on gained on flags vs other teams? That's how you start actually looking at this. What about bad calls that get reviewed and then don't get overturned. IE, same bad call? I'm not saying it's happening. It most likely isn't. But it could, and without much effort. Until there are transparent ruling policies (that means consequences for being wrong) and stats for refs (like they do players) and stats for games on flag yardage, it's hard to actually quantify the feeling of being cheated.
Just for the record, I love the Chiefs. I love seeing records broken and talent flourishing. But, without the data, it's hard to support either side. Even worse when there isn't a consequence for being wrong. Or maybe there is and no one here's about the ref that got fired because after video review they saw they sucked... 🤷🏼♂️
Anyone with a modicum of football knowledge will realize that the last five playoff wins for Kansas City have been less about Mahomes and more about the KC defense. Steve Spagnuolo has done a masterful job, along with some luck, of shutting down some impressive offenses. Mahomes hasn't been winning shootout games. IMO the Chiefs defense should get the accolades.
I can’t hate them either like I, with a passion, hated the Pats. For me it’s two reasons. 1. Reid seems like much less of an ass than Belichick (it’s a low bar I know). 2. Mahomes consistently makes plays no one else can that you just have to admire. I still don’t “get” Brady. Obviously he was one of the best ever but I don’t remember even a single “wow” moment from him. I’m sure there were but I can’t recall any. The play I remember him the most for is the “tuck rule” fumble which just gave me another reason to hate. 😀. I’m really looking forward to this game. Eagles just had better be up by 2 scores if Mahomes is the last one to get the ball.
Nice column! Am I biased? Sure I am (Chiefs fan since 1990 & I write Chiefs Chronicles on Substack), but I loved hearing it from the Bills point of view. That James Cook quote was 100% correct- with a team like the Chiefs you can’t leave it in the hands of the refs and hope you win. You want to beat the Chiefs? Then you can’t just lean on what’s worked for you all season. If the Bills had gotten just a little bit more aggressive/creative with their play-calling, things could’ve very well worked out in their favor. During the game, I honestly thought they were going to win.
Do the Chiefs sometimes get benefit of the doubt/“Protect the Face of the League” penalties? Absolutely. Every superstar player/great team in every league gets/has gotten those from time to time. It should also be noted, though, that there are terrible calls in literally EVERY game in the NFL. It’s amazing how people hyper-focus only on calls that go the Chiefs way. I’ve tried explaining the scope and impossibility of keeping a conspiracy that big a secret, but true believers in the Mahomes/Kelce/Reid/Swift/Satan Pentaverate won’t listen to reason.
There are two penalties (I’m sure there were many more) that went against KC before they became a dynasty that are burned into my brain- the ridiculous Chris Jones roughing penalty that took away a strip sack/fumble recovery against the Raiders (the Chiefs won anyway) & the egregiously horrible call by Jeff Triplette (who Chiefs fans had long claimed was biased against the Chiefs and who retired after that game) in the Chiefs playoff loss to the Titans in the 2017 playoffs. His absurd call that Marcus Mariota’s forward progress was stopped, took away a Derrick Johnson sack/forced fumble (that the Chiefs recovered) and continued a drive that led to a Titans FG in a game that the Chiefs lost by a single point.
Bad calls happen all the time, but there’s something else at work for the Chiefs that people tend to ignore. In the playoffs, every aspect of that team, from players to coaches to the lowest Gatorade person (do they have a job title?) cranks up to a level that other teams can’t seem to match. The Chiefs always seem to make not only that one extra play that their opponent can’t, but also enough fewer mistakes to make a difference in the outcome of the game. Good coaching counts for a lot and Chiefs have probably the greatest Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator duo in the history of the league, not to mention one of the best Special Teams coaches ever.
Combine that coaching with Patrick Mahomes (who is well on his way to becoming the greatest QB in NFL history), Travis Kelce (probably the best TE in NFL history, all things considered), ascending and dynamic speedster WR Xavier Worthy, a great interior O-Line (love the trio of Thuney/Humphrey/Smith!), Chris Jones (often under appreciated but a dominant DT on a HOF trajectory), a very young All-Pro CB in Trent McDuffie, solid up and coming players (like “Furious” George Karlaftis), and good role-players (too many to list) filling out the rest of the starting Offense and Defense and you’ve got a recipe for great success.
As for me, I’m just trying to tune out the anger and Chiefs hate. I was a loyal and patient fan for 25+ years, waiting and hoping for this success (never imagining this level of success, TBH) and I’m going to enjoy it for as long as it lasts.
No dog in this fight and I usually state that KC will win on the last drive - but I've got a hunch that Philly is going to win this game.
If you continuously push the limits and try to get away with every infraction you can, is that outsmarting the opposition or cheating? A bit of both I think and both Belichick's and Reid's teams are masters at it. It's part of a hyper competitive championship mindset that both Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes have. I think Josh Allen has it too but there's none of that in the Bills coaching staff.
No
But what if the point was force calls in favor? I don't believe in the "cheating" either, but it's hard to look past some bad calls. Especially after they are reviewed. Did they get called bad twice? Maybe. But what if there is a different dynamic? What if the Chiefs purposefully incorporate pulling fouls to make a game? Has anyone gone through the season to quantify their yards on gained on flags vs other teams? That's how you start actually looking at this. What about bad calls that get reviewed and then don't get overturned. IE, same bad call? I'm not saying it's happening. It most likely isn't. But it could, and without much effort. Until there are transparent ruling policies (that means consequences for being wrong) and stats for refs (like they do players) and stats for games on flag yardage, it's hard to actually quantify the feeling of being cheated.
Just for the record, I love the Chiefs. I love seeing records broken and talent flourishing. But, without the data, it's hard to support either side. Even worse when there isn't a consequence for being wrong. Or maybe there is and no one here's about the ref that got fired because after video review they saw they sucked... 🤷🏼♂️
Anyone with a modicum of football knowledge will realize that the last five playoff wins for Kansas City have been less about Mahomes and more about the KC defense. Steve Spagnuolo has done a masterful job, along with some luck, of shutting down some impressive offenses. Mahomes hasn't been winning shootout games. IMO the Chiefs defense should get the accolades.