NFL players and analysts have united in agreement as the referees continued to aid the Kansas City Chiefs with controversial calls in their victory over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game.
NFL Refs Get Called Out as Brutal Calls Continued Throughout AFC Championship Game
While the Chiefs have punched their ticket to the Super Bowl to play the Philadelphia Eagles for the second time in three years, the journey to this point has not been well-perceived. Their first game of the playoffs against the Houston Texans was riddled with controversial calls, causing an outroar on social media.
With many calling for change after the Divisional Round, it was hoped that something would be done about this poor officiating.
But the AFC Championship Game was potentially even worse as both NFL players and analysts were in shock over some of the calls.
A perfect example of this was an unsuccessful first-down conversion by the Bills in which every announcer of the broadcast agreed that they got it. To make matters worse, this set up the drive that gave the Chiefs the lead.
The Chiefs go-ahead TD drive was set up by a ruling that Josh Allen did not get a Bills first down.
Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Gene Steratore react to the ruling.
"Wow." – Romo
"I felt like he gained it by about a third of the football…" -Steratore
"I agree." – Nantz 🏈🦓🎙️ https://t.co/R4Xs0phM0P pic.twitter.com/8xvT1t1rdn
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 27, 2025
That said, these weren’t the only analysts to speak out on the issue, as former NFL player–turned-analyst Dan Orlovsky put the refs on blast, saying, “An awful call and again a worse review. The ball is clearly past the line, absolutely horrible.”
Let’s an awful call and again a worse review
The ball clearly is past the line.
Absolutely horrible
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) January 27, 2025
Another former NFL player chimed in as Matt Leinart added, “Awful call by the refs, clear first down… Which leads to a TD by the Chiefs. Like clockwork.”
Awful call by the refs, clear first down… which then leads to a TD by the Chiefs. Like clockwork.
— Matt Leinart (@MattLeinartQB) January 27, 2025
College football analyst Ari Wasserman also chimed in, saying, “I’m no ref conspiracy theorist but the Chiefs ever not get the call they need?”
I’m no ref conspiracy theorist but do the chiefs ever not get the call they need?
— Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) January 27, 2025
While the officiating has clearly still been poor, the NFL will search for solutions, including possible changes to existing rules.
Potential NFL Rule Change Following Backlash Over Calls Favoring Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs
The Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs led to a ton of backlash, as multiple controversial calls were made across several games. While this isn’t a new occurrence, as refs can’t be perfect, it was noticeably bad.
Furthermore, these calls seemed to be especially favoring quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in their victory over the Houston Texans.
This game was bad enough that it even led fans to believe that the refs were “cheating” in favor of the Chiefs.
While this is a bit of a stretch, it was an opinion that many fans shared. That said, ESPN insider Adam Schefter announced prior to the Chiefs’ matchup with the Buffalo Bills that NFL replay assist could expand next season to include things such as the quarterback slide.
For all those complaining that Patrick Mahomes gets too many calls, relief soon could be on the way.
NFL replay assist is expected to expand this offseason into plays that could include the quarterback slide, league sources told ESPN.https://t.co/4w3haqOW7i
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 25, 2025
This is great news for fans who believe the refs have missed their mark this season, particularly with the Chiefs.
One of the more controversial calls in the Divisional Round was a late slide by Mahomes that turned into an unnecessary roughness penalty. Though the defenders went for the hit, they ended up only hitting each other and had little to no contact with Mahomes.
This is also amazing to hear, as it means that the league is listening to the fans rather than ignoring the criticism. They’ve been facing a lot of backlash, and it seems it could actually be helping. Hopefully, if the NFL makes a rule change, it does so properly, and it’s beneficial to everyone on the field.