DON’T BE MAD AT THE CHIEFS (AND 15-YARD PENALTIES) WHEN MAHOMES IS SMARTER
America should enjoy the artistry when a three-time championship quarterback awaits a defender’s mistake, which develops the predominant theory that Kansas City’s dynasty is built on intelligence
Underneath his forehead curls and his still-babyfied face, Patrick Mahomes is smarter than most men in America, including some in elected office. He has convinced opponents that they’re being snookered by game officials. In truth, he’s trying to win his fourth Super Bowl by outthinking them deliriously throughout his youthful 20s.
Twice, the Houston Texans thought they were dinged by referees when defenders hit Mahomes in Saturday’s divisional playoff round. Both times, he took advantage of 15-yard penalties by leading the Chiefs to touchdowns, which lifted them to a 23-14 win in Kansas City. Anyone who has observed this dynasty since February 2020 knows Mahomes and his head coach, Andy Reid, have methods of winning that exceed yellow flags and a heavenly blessed quarterback’s ability to draw them.
Yet …
“We knew it was going to be us versus the refs going into this game," Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said.
“We knew going into this game, man, it was us versus everybody. And when I say everybody, it's everybody,” coach DeMeco Ryans said.
It reached the point where running back Joe Mixon was fined by the NFL for something he didn’t say entirely. Yes, he said, “Everybody knows how it is playing up here. You can never leave it into the refs' hands. The whole world sees, man, what it is. When it comes down to it, you can never leave it into the refs' hands." Oddly, Sports Illustrated claimed Mixon also said, “Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with the Chiefs. The officials are (trash) & bias.” Actually, former NFL receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh said it, yet the league cited his 50/50 quote and handed a $25,000 fine to Mixon.
“I’m getting fined by the @nfl for what someone else said. What's next? I get fined by them for Connor McDavid cross checking an opponent on a @nhl game!” Mixon posted on social media Wednesday.
Even crazier, ESPN analyst Troy Aikman and rules expert Russell Yurk lashed out on the broadcast. “Ah, come on … He’s a runner and I could not disagree with that one more and (Mahomes) barely gets hit. That’s the second penalty now that’s been called against the Texans,” Aikman said.
“The two Houston players hit each other,” said Yurk, who once worked in the league as an officiating executive. “That should not have been a foul.”
“They’ve gotta address it in the offseason,” Aikman said.
Let’s pause for a long sigh. Could it be people are so sick of the Chiefs and Mahomes — and Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift — that they’re searching for fake evidence? Turns out, reports Mike Sando at The Athletic, Kansas City’s opponents have earned 48 penalties the past two seasons in fourth quarters and overtimes while the Chiefs have earned 47. Is it possible Aikman, who is doing a much better job of assessing games than Tom Brady, doesn’t want Mahomes bypassing his three championships in the 1990s?
I’m tired of those who are tired of Mahomes. He’s better. He’s greater. He’s an artist. He’s far beyond his age. And if he wins again, what possibly comes next?
“I don't feel that way. At the end of the day, the referees are doing their best to call the game as fair and as proper as they possibly can,” Mahomes said as he prepared for Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in the AFC championship game. “And all you can do is go out there and play the game that you love as hard as you can and live with the results. ... I think that's what we preach here in Kansas City. You get new referees every year, you get new circumstances, and you never can really tell because every play's different and that's what makes the NFL so special. I feel like I've just continued to play the game, and I just try to win, and whatever happens kind of happens.”
Do we think the Chiefs wouldn’t have scored 10 points without the two penalties? Mahomes is the master of seizing opportunities. Is he wise enough to slow down as he approaches a sideline and let dummy defenders smack him? He certainly is, early and often, especially in the postseason.
“I’ve kind of learned that no matter what happens during the game, 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,” he said. “I mean, obviously 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. And 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 football game.”
Thank you. Now we should focus on another marvelous collision that should draw 50 million viewers. Mahomes against Allen features the league’s finest two quarterbacks, now that the Bills have ousted a turnover-riddled Lamar Jackson. Mahomes is “one of the greatest ever to play the game,” said Allen, who said Kansas City is “one of the greatest teams to ever be assembled.” They’ve met in the playoffs four times in five seasons. We’re awaiting Buffalo’s first victory, though expect more thrills after they combined for seven touchdown passes and more than 700 passing yards four years ago.
“If you look at the games, every game is close, so it just comes out to a play here or there that makes an impact on the outcome,” Mahomes said. “When you look at the great rivalries of the NFL, it comes with this. I've played against Josh enough times to know that he's going to come out there and play great football, especially in big moments. I have to play my best football whenever I get the opportunity to and try to put our team in the best position to succeed. If that's limiting turnovers — if that's changing the field position, whatever that is — you have to find a way that day to win.”
Already, Mahomes is appreciated as an all-time great. Someday, he might be THE all-time great. “Obviously I want to be perfect. I want to be great,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I want to win, and however we have to win the football game, I’m good with it. If that’s scoring a lot of touchdowns, not scoring touchdowns, if that’s running the football — whatever it is, if it’s just playing defense to win football games — I just want to win.”
Does the league office like dynasties? I pretend to think Walt Anderson, as the senior vice president of officiating, is simply doing his job when he says officials will “protect the quarterbacks.”
Protecting the face of the league, when he’s doing nothing wrong, makes plenty of sense. It also puts Joe Mixon’s money in the office till.
###
Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.