Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans can expect to get a letter from the NFL. During his post-game press conference, Ryans expressed his dissatisfaction with the game’s officiating. His players took several shots at the officials following their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs as well.
DeMeco Ryans Mocks Officiating After Loss to Chiefs
After the game, Ryans admitted the Texans made too many mistakes to win the game, but he also deflected a certain amount of blame on the game officials.
“We knew going into the game that it was us versus everybody,” he said with an emphasis on the word “everybody.”
“When I say everybody, it’s everybody. All the naysayers, the doubters, everybody we had to go against today. Going into the game, what we were up against, we can’t make the mistakes that we made.”
Ryans was not quite finished. He still had a lot to say. There was no one there who was going to stop him from talking.
“We had a lot of self-inflicted mistakes that happened whether it’s special teams — not converting our kicks. Defensively, not being where we’re supposed to be in coverage. Offensively, not protecting our quarterback and keeping him clean,” Ryans said before poking the bear once again by challenging the officiating. “So you marry that on top of everything else that we had to deal with, it’s going to be a really tough uphill battle.”
DeMeco Ryans on the officiating: "We knew going into this game, man, that it was 'Us vs. Everybody' and when I say everybody — it's everybody."
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 19, 2025
The Chiefs have been said to have gotten favorable calls throughout the season. In the Divisional Round game against the Texans, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was able to draw a personal foul penalty for roughing the passer. It was an extremely questionable call.
Will Anderson was called for roughing the passer on Patrick Mahomes on this play.#HOUvsKC | ESPN, ABC, ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/bTn7Z5XoLZ
— ESPN (@espn) January 18, 2025
Troy Aikman, who did color commentary for ESPN on the broadcast, agreed with rules analyst Russell York who said the flag should not have been thrown.
“I agree with you, Russell. From that angle there, I don’t see helmet-to-helmet,” Aikman said during the telecast. “A big-time penalty.”
ESPN rules analyst Russell Yurk: "It looked like that first contact was to the upper chest area. I didn't see anything there that supported a foul."
Troy Aikman: "I agree with you, Russell. From that angle there, I don't see helmet-to-helmet… A big-time penalty." #NFL pic.twitter.com/xt2nmDPqfg
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 18, 2025
Aikman went on to say protecting Mahomes has to stop. He is getting too many questionable calls.
“They’ve got to address it in the offseason,” Aikman said. “You can’t, as a quarterback, run around and play games with defenders and then be able to call a penalty.”
Will Anderson Jr. was far more direct than his coach. He was downright irritated by the call.
🚨BREAKING: #TEXANS DL WILL ANDERSON SAID HE KNEW THE #REFS WOULD CHEAT FOR THE #CHIEFS…
“WE KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE US VERSUS THE REFS GOING INTO THIS GAME.”
👀
(🎥 @WillKunkelFOX)pic.twitter.com/3nyNsQDtuh
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) January 19, 2025
“We knew it was going to be us versus the refs going into this game,” Anderson said.
Texans star running back Joe Mixon echoed this sentiment.
Texans RB Joe Mixon on the officiating in today's game:
"Everybody know how it is playing up here. You can never leave it into the refs hands. The whole world see, man." pic.twitter.com/NZPIlO6YrQ
— Will Kunkel (@WillKunkelFOX) January 19, 2025
“Everybody know how it is playing up here,” Mixon said after the loss. “You can never leave it into the refs’ hands. The whole see, man.”
