“Pathetic”: Fans Fume Over “Refs Favoring Chiefs” After Clay Martin Flags Patrick Mahomes Twice for Helmet Hits

Earlier this week, NFL fans predicted the Kansas City Chiefs would remain undefeated when Clay Martin officiates them during the Patrick Mahomes Era. For better or worse, today’s contest against the Houston Texans played out exactly as they anticipated.

It appeared the Texans forced the Chiefs to go three-and-out on their second offensive drive of the game. However, Kansas City gained a new set of downs on a roughing the passer penalty.

There’s no denying that the Houston edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. hit Mahomes when he threw the ball. That said, there did not appear to be forcible contact with Mahomes’ head/neck area. The same is true of another 15-yard penalty called on Houston in the third quarter (shown below). The Chiefs got a field goal after the Anderson infraction and scored a touchdown following the second controversial whistle.

Non-Kansas City fans were understandably irate at the calls. One wondered why defenders don’t always hit Mahomes hard “if [they’re] going to get flagged for any contact. Others suggested the officials are always on the Chiefs’ side.

Those penalties, and some self-inflicted wounds by the Texans, stood out in the Chiefs’ 23-14 victory.

Fans regularly get upset about officiating. That will be an occurrence until the end of time. What’s less common, though, is a consensus among NFL players and analysts on… pretty much anything. But no matter where you turned on social media, there were notable voices disappointed with what they witnessed today. Even ESPN broadcaster Troy Aikman was left in disbelief multiple times.

Former Cleveland Browns left tackle Joe Thomas claimed Mahomes was “exploiting the sham ‘unnecessary roughness’ on QB rules.”

Brett Kollman, creator of “The Film Room”, said the game “pissed me off.” ESPN’s Bill Barnwell and Pro Football Focus’ Sam Monson, among others, also had choice words about the contest.

To his credit, ESPN rules analyst Russell Yurk expressed some of the penalties were incorrectly assessed. ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt and Ryan Clark also discussed the calls at length in the network’s postgame coverage.

Will the NFL crackdown on poor officiating/flopping attempts?

Kansas City’s fanbase argued Josh Allen was the league’s “biggest flopper” in December 2024. Buffalo Bills fans likely would point to Mahomes’ attempted sideline gag as evidence otherwise. Regardless, a conversation on who best takes advantage of or reaps rewards from the league’s rules shouldn’t be a consistent talking point in NFL circles.

When the focus of every contest comes down to officiating, it detracts from the individual and team greatness we see on a snap-to-snap basis. Instead of celebrating Mahomes’ tremendous falling touchdown toss to Travis Kelce or Will Anderson Jr.’s exceptional open-field tackle of Xavier Worthy, we’re stuck on plays involving Clay Martin’s crew.

The most infuriating aspect of this phenomenon is the regularity with which the Chiefs seem to benefit more than their opponents. A legitimate offsides penalty on Kardarius Toney may be the most “controversial” call against them from 2022-24.

Meanwhile, they scored 10 points this afternoon alone following questionable penalties. Those whistles have an undeniable impact on momentum and who wins/loses.

Would Kansas City have won if Martin’s crew got every call correct today? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, fans should get to see players determine the outcome through special athletic abilities rather than foul baiting.

The NFL needs to look only at the NBA’s ratings to see what will happen if they don’t rectify this issue. No, a potential downswing won’t happen today or tomorrow. But unless things change sooner than later, people will continue to question the product’s authenticity. And once you lose that trust with your customers, you won’t get it back.