Are NFL referees helping the Chiefs win games? What do the stats say?

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If you’ve clicked on the comments section of any Chiefs post in the last year or two, you’ve probably seen the comments claiming that the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes in particular, get special treatment from NFL referees.

This debate is back in headlines as many fans believed Chiefs DB Bryan Cook committed pass interference against Falcons TE Kyle Pitts late last Sunday’s primetime Chiefs win. Sure enough, comment sections after the game were filled with memes and claims of the Chiefs being handed free wins.

Is there any truth to these claims, though? Refs miss calls in nearly every game, but are the Chiefs and Mahomes really getting special treatment?

One stat many Mahomes nay-sayers love to bring up is the fact that he’s had more interceptions overturned by penalties than any quarterback since 2018. However, you could argue that this is because Mahomes threw more passes than any quarterback in that time frame.

Since Patrick Mahomes took over the starting QB job in Kansas City for the 2018 season, the Chiefs have been the sixth most penalized team in the NFL with 659 penalties called against them, according to statmuse.com .

Only the Browns, Cardinals, Cowboys, Jets and Bills have been flagged on more plays since 2018. What makes this narrative interesting, however, appears when looking at the Chiefs’ penalty numbers in each of the seasons they appeared in the Super Bowl.

In 2020, the Chiefs snapped a 50-year Super Bowl drought, winning Super Bowl LIV against the San Francisco 49ers. That year, the Chiefs committed the 18th most penalties in the league with 107. The 49ers were just behind the Chiefs in the no. 20 spot with 105.

The Chiefs were back in the Super Bowl just a year later, losing to Tom Brady’s Buccaneers. That season, the Chiefs were much worse in the penalty category, ranking fourth in the league with 105 penalties. The Buccaneers were near the bottom of the league, 22, with just 84 flags thrown.

Fast forward two seasons and the Chiefs were back yet again to face the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII. The Chiefs won this time, and their number one ranked offense committed 87 offensive penalties, according to Pro Football Reference.

The Chiefs completed the back-to-back season last year, beating the 49ers again in Super Bowl LVIII. According to ESPN, the Chiefs and the Tennessee Titans tied for the sixth most penalized NFL team during the regular season with 126 penalties.

The theory that the NFL was “rigged” in the Chiefs’ favor was at its peak last season, with the Chiefs winning back-to-back Super Bowls, Taylor Swift joining the fanbase and much more. In 12 out of 17 games, though, the Chiefs were flagged more than their opponents and they were well over the league average for penalties per game.

Like MLB umpires dealing with dialed-in pitchers, NFL refs probably reward the best players in the league to a certain degree, and why wouldn’t they? Looking at the stats should tell fans all they need to know about Mahomes’ success; it’s not luck, and it certainly hasn’t been a handout from the NFL.

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