NFL Referee Sets Record Straight About Controversy Favoring Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs

There's no question about it. Being a referee in professional sports is among the hardest jobs anyone can have in the industry. With the outcome of the game always in the palm of their hands, officials are tasked with keeping everything running smoothly while also judging the play fairly as it is played at a million miles per second, with no time for a lapse in concentration.

They'd be the first to tell you, sometimes refs miss calls. And sometimes a trend forms that supposes an unfair leniency to one side versus another.

However, they'll also stand firm in the integrity that there is no favoritism.

This debate with fans about refs helping out a certain team has never been larger than recently with the Kansas City Chiefs in the Patrick Mahomes era.

A glaring example came last postseason when the Chiefs made it to another AFC Championship Game partly thanks to two unnecessary roughness penalties against the Houston Texans in the Divisional round, crucial calls that benefitted the Chiefs and sent Texans fans into a frenzy.

Over the weekend, renowned referee Shawn Hochuli set the record straight about this controversy and how NFL officials defend players.

“We treat all players the same with regard to safety fouls,” Hochuli said. “We obviously treat all quarterbacks the same with regard to roughing the passer. Anybody with the ball, a sliding player whether it’s a quarterback or not. So I would just say that I don’t have anything other than we treat all players the same.”

As the game has evolved and mobile quarterbacks have become the norm, the NFL has appropriately altered their rules regarding defenseless players, especially those that are the most important pieces of the team. Hochuli says the players have largely done well in accepting these rules and playing fairly.

“Now, it’s a difficult game from a rules standpoint from the defensive side of the ball, things like illegal contact and things of that nature,” he said. “I will say that these players in my 12 years are exceptional at adapting to the rule changes, whether it’s roughing the passer or illegal contact.

“These are unbelievable athletes who do unbelievable things and they’ve adapted, so I credit them for that. There’s obviously no favoritism or preferential treatment toward not only one player, but one position.”

Mahomes - one of the brightest stars the game has ever seen, who happens to play a coveted position to success in the sport - has seemingly been painted as the bad guy in this controversy.

Whether he sells calls with a "flop" motion on occasion or not, opposing fans are quick to bash the three-time Super Bowl champ after each flag that goes his way.

He's become a sort of villain regarding the rules that protect the safety of the quarterback, but acknowledges that the league institutes these rules everywhere, not just Chiefs games. For that, Mahomes isn't worried about how much fans get riled up about this supposed issue.

“I’ve kind of learned that no matter what happens during the game, something is going to come out about (the refs) if you win, if you continue to win,” Mahomes said on The Drivepodcast. “I don’t really pay attention to it. Obviously, I’ve been on both sides of it as far as how I’ve felt that calls were made.

"But at the end of the day, 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.”