Some of the “Awful” Calls by NFL Refs in Kansas City Chiefs’ 23-14 Win Over Houston Texans at Arrowhead

It felt inevitable that the Chiefs would reach their 7th straight AFC Championship game tonight as they defeated the Texans 23-14. But the talking point from the game became the host of poor and contentious decisions that went against Houston—already the underdogs of the night.

Let’s take a look at all the obvious decisions that went against CJ Stroud and his men at Arrowhead.

Excessive force and roughing the passer were the highlights of the game but all the decisions went in favor of Patrick Mahomes and not his opposition shot-caller. The first one came early when a Houston defender rushed Mahomes while he still holding onto the ball. He barely let it go before getting a slight push from the defender. The refs called it “roughing the passer” on the Texans, throwing a flag when it did not seem an illegal hit.

Another contentious moment came when Kansas City performed what appeared to be an illegal hip-drop tackle on Texans tight end Dalton Schultz. Despite Schultz protesting and pleading for a flag, none was thrown.

Another major point of controversy revolved around Patrick Mahomes. Near the sidelines, Mahomes appeared to deliberately slow down to draw a penalty, rather than stepping out of bounds. A couple of Texans defenders delivered a seemingly clean hit while pushing Mahomes out, yet the referees penalized them for excessive force.

A similar situation unfolded later in the game. Instead of sliding or going down quickly, Mahomes delayed, and just before his knee touched the ground, Houston defenders delivered what seemed like a legal hit to stop his progress. To their disbelief, the officials flagged them for illegal contact.

Adding to the Texans’ frustrations, the refs flagged Dalton Schultz for offensive pass interference for what appeared to be a legitimate block on replay. The penalty negated what would have been a big offensive gain for Houston.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs’ offensive line seemed to enjoy leniency from the referees, with blatant holding calls ignored. One such instance occurred when Jawaan Taylor was clearly holding a defender during Mahomes’ scramble for a first down.

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, in contrast, received no such leniency. On a critical 3rd-and-10 play, the referees apparently missed an obvious roughing-the-passer call when Stroud took a late hit.

In another instance, Houston appeared to convert for a clear first down, but the officials ruled the ball short, forcing them into a tougher situation.

Mahomes continued to benefit from questionable officiating throughout the game. The referees called another unnecessary late-hit penalty in Mahomes’ favor when he refused to go down early, and a Texans defender made contact while trying to stop him before his knee touched the ground.

The Chiefs’ offensive line escaped scrutiny again on a crucial scramble, where another apparent holding call went uncalled, giving Mahomes ample time to pick up another first down.

The accumulation of these calls left Texans fans and players frustrated, as the officiating seemingly consistently favored the Kansas City Chiefs in pivotal moments of the game.