NFL fans were mortified by controversial officiating when referees levied an unecessary roughness penalty on the Texans in the third quarter of Saturday’s AFC divisional round game against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, who were 23-14 victors.
Even analyst Troy Aikman and rules expert Russell Yurk, on the call for ESPN, were in disbelief at the flag.
“Oh, come on — I mean, he’s a runner,” Aikman lamented. “I could not disagree with that one more. He barely gets hit.”
“The two Houston players hit each other,” Yurk, a former NFL officiating executive, pointed out. “That should not have been a foul.”
“They’ve gotta address it in the offseason,” Aikman added.
Yellow flags flew in on the play — a first-and-10 from the Chiefs’ 35-yard line — after Mahomes scrambled out of the pocket and briefly turned upfield.
With multiple defenders closing in, he slid down near the 40-yard line.
The quarterback’s slide was a quick one, and the two Texans defenders in closest proximity left their feet at practically the same moment Mahomes did.
Those defenders — Henry To’oTo’o and Foley Fatukasi — made much more contact with each other than they did with Mahomes, who, by the time of their collision, was already on the turf beneath them.
The game broadcast cut to a sH๏τ of Houston defenders, palms face up in disbelief.
And that sentiment was echoed all across the country by fans on social media.
“Never really disliked the Chiefs until now. Ref’s bailing them out over and over, Mahomes flopping around like an English Premier League striker…” one X user wrote.
“Offensive Diving should be an unsportsmanlike penalty,” chimed another.
“Future narrator: They did not address it in the off-season,” wrote a third, in reference to Aikman.
The score was 13-12 at the time the penalty was called, and the penalty gave Kansas City a fresh set of downs and moved the offense 15 yards closer to the end zone.
Mahomes and company reached the promised land nine plays later — capping the 13 play, 81-yard drive with a touchdown to extend their lead to eight points.
The Chiefs will take on the winner of Sunday’s Ravens-Bills game next week in the AFC тιтle game.
