The Kansas City Chiefs’ 23-14 Divisional Round win over the Houston Texans was marred by a few refereeing controversies. However, Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson is unwilling to let the likes of Will Anderson Jr. and other Texans players take the sheen off their victory.
Jaylen Watson Tweets in Response to Accusations of Chiefs Getting NFL Referees’ Support
Following the game, the Texans defensive end had a soundbite that resonated with several neutral fans. Anderson, the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, had alleged in postgame interviews that the Texans knew they would be up against an unfavorable refereeing crew.
🚨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
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans was more circumspect while speaking about the refereeing, noting that his roster knew that they would be up against “the whole world.”
DeMeco Ryans’ initial thoughts after the Texans’ loss to the Chiefs.
(via @HoustonTexans) pic.twitter.com/hQNNg7WhbN
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 19, 2025
Watson, however, who returned from injured reserve for this game after nearly three months, isn’t willing to let people diminish the Chiefs’ win in this fashion and went to X to give his opinion.
“I miss when grown men took they losses like a man a new day and age though…”
I miss when grown men took they losses like a man a new day and age though…
— Wat’s Island🏝 (@JaylenWatson12) January 19, 2025
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was the beneficiary of two extremely controversial calls at different points, including a dodgy “roughing the passer” call in the first quarter of the game.
With the score tied at 3-3, Mahomes was pressured by Anderson and forced to throw the ball away. Anderson was well within the two-step range as defined by the guidelines for roughing calls when he made contact with Mahomes’ shoulder and chest with his helmet.
The tackle had no direct impact on the head, either.
The refs are criminal to call this roughing the passer on Will Anderson. He barely hit Mahomes.#HOUvsKC pic.twitter.com/3RO1HVqqQM
— Mike McDonalds (@MikMcDonalds) January 18, 2025
The penalty that resulted from this call helped the Chiefs get close to field-goal range and finishing the drive with three additional points.
Mahomes benefited from an even more controversial call with the score at 13-12 late in the third quarter. The Chiefs QB had run past the line of scrimmage and would normally be adjudicated as a running back. However, he made a late slide with two Texans converging onto him and went to the ground.
“Roughing the passer” on Mahomes when he was quite literally not even hit.
The NFL game is truly unwatchable. Never seen a blatant rig job in my life. pic.twitter.com/vVwTKJ3Fgw
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) January 18, 2025
The referees threw a flag, resulting in a personal foul call against Houston. However, the footage showed how late the slide really was and that Mahomes was barely even hit. As a result, Kansas City marched up the rest of the field and scored a touchdown.
These two calls alone essentially helped Kansas City score 10 points that they probably wouldn’t have accrued otherwise. In a game that finished with a nine-point margin of victory, it was quite literally game-changing.
As announcers Troy Aikman and Joe Buck noted, the NFL needs to do something about this — and soon.