Fans Are Blaming Poor Officiating Gave Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs an Edge Over the Lions

Back in Week 5, Patrick Mahomes & Co. committed 13 penalties for 109 yards while losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars. This made many believe that the claims of officiating bias in favor of the Chiefs, which were doing the rounds in 2024, were an anomaly and possibly baseless. But seven days later, it looked like those officiating gremlins are back.

The referees once again became the main characters in a Chiefs’ game and not for the right reasons. After Sunday night’s 30-17 victory over the Detroit Lions, fans and analysts were left fuming over what many described as “one-sided officiating” that appeared to favor Mahomes and his Chiefs.

What sparked the outrage was that the Chiefs weren’t flagged a single time all night. Meanwhile, the Lions were penalized four times for 38 yards, including one that wiped out what could’ve been a game-changing touchdown in the first quarter.

That opening-drive score, a clever trick play where running back David Montgomery threw a touchdown pass to quarterback Jared Goff, was negated. The officials ruled Goff had committed an illegal motion.

Referee Craig Wolstad later explained that Goff “paused momentarily in the quarterback position, didn’t get under center, but he walked up and stopped like he was the quarterback. Then, he went in motion.” Because the quarterback “has to stop for at least one second” before the snap, it was a false start.

The Lions had to settle for a field goal instead of an early 7–0 lead due to the call. But the controversy didn’t stop there.

Later in the game, a key third-quarter reception by Travis Kelce drew scrutiny. Replays appeared to show the tight end used the ground to secure the catch.

If that wasn’t enough, a late defensive pass interference call on a seemingly uncatchable ball for Kelce helped extend the Chiefs’ go-ahead drive before halftime.

NFL fans were livid with these questionable calls. Some suspected that the poor officiating was a sign of the league being rigged.

“Can’t let the Chiefs go 2 and 4! Just like the NCAA can’t have its bulldogs with 2 SEC losses this early! And this is coming from a Bears fan! Leagues totally rigged,” wrote a fan. Another added: “As usual, the referees are working for the Chiefs.”

Some, meanwhile, chose to find humor in the chaos. “Zero penalties? Wow, what a well-coached team,” joked an “X” user.

And last but not least, Taylor Swift made her presence felt in the comments. Of course, the pop star had to be dragged in for anything related to Kelce, the KC Chiefs, and NFL rigging.

“It’s just because it’s Mr. Swifty. The NFL is run by a pansy Democrat in Roger Goodell, and the ones that fall in line with that are the ones that will get favorability,” wrote a fan.

While cries of bias involving KC are nothing new in the NFL, a recent University of Texas at El Paso study may give those claims some credence. Analyzing 13,000+ penalty calls between 2015 and 2023, researchers found that postseason officiating disproportionately favored the Chiefs during the Mahomes era.

The study revealed that penalties against Kansas City’s opponents were 23% more likely to result in first downs and 28% more likely to fall into subjective categories such as roughing the passer or pass interference.

As one researcher stated, the pattern “points to the powerful role of financial incentives in shaping supposedly neutral decisions.” Now, we can’t say for sure that the bias is intentional or simply coincidental.

Sunday night’s game against the Lions added fresh fuel to an old debate. Naturally, since, despite the noise, the result remained the same: Patrick Manomes and the Chiefs coming out looking spotless.