Patrick Mahomes has roared into his seventh straight AFC Championship Game. With their victory over the Houston Texans, the Chiefs are one step closer to a three-peat.
However, this win was not without controversies — some refereeing calls from the game made more headlines than Mahomes and Co. Now, Tony Dungy is here to set the record straight.
Tony Dungy Backs Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs Amidst Calls of Biased Refereeing
Dungy is one of four people to win a Super Bowl as a player and a head coach. As a player, he lifted the Lombardi Trophy in 1979 with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Then, 28 years later in 2007, he lifted the coveted hardware again as HC with the Indianapolis Colts. The Hall of Famer was also the defensive backs coach for the Chiefs from 1989 to 1991.
After the Chiefs’ victory, the 69-year-old took to X (formerly Twitter) to tip his hat to Andy Reid and his team for their seventh consecutive waltz into the AFC Championship. However, one fan challenged that Reid’s job is made easy due to refereeing calls favoring them.
The fan highlighted that the Texans became the first team in NFL playoff history to outgain their opponents by 100 yards, have 0 turnovers, and still end up losing. 49 teams before the Texans had all secured a victory in this scenario.
Dungy then proceeded to school the fan and stick by his analysis of Reid and Mahomes. “Did any of those teams give up a long opening kickoff return, miss 3 kicks, have their QB get sacked 8 times and only score 12 points of their own?” he replied.
Did any of those teams give up a long opening kickoff return, miss 3 kicks, have their QB get sacked 8 times and only score 12 points of their own?
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) January 19, 2025
After winning the game, Mahomes did not address these controversial calls, neither was he asked about it by the media. Amidst the biased refereeing arguments, the QB has also received support.
Mahomes and Josh Allen Were Ready for This Moment
The Chiefs lost their first game of the season against the Buffalo Bills in Week 11 (30-21). After the game, both Mahomes and Josh Allen knew they’d rematch soon enough.
“We’ll see you guys soon,” Allen said during the handshakes after the game, to which Mahomes replied, “We’ll do it again, baby.”
Mahomes and Allen have taken the field against each other eight times — fittingly, it’s a record of 4-4. While Allen leads the regular-season battle 4-1, Mahomes has never been beaten by Allen in the playoffs (3-0).
They will face off to crown the kings of AFC on Sunday, Jan. 26. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET at Arrowhead Stadium.
