NFL legend Champ Bailey was among those glued to the television when he saw the controversial penalties given to the Houston Texans during their playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Patrick Mahomes drew two penalties that had the NFL world talking Saturday and nearly drew a third when he was accused of collapsing out of bounds as the Chiefs moved down the field.
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes slides past Houston Texans linebacker Henry To’oTo’o during the fourth quarter of the AFC Divisional Round playoff game in Kansas City, Missouri, January 18, 2025. (Denny Medley-Imagn Images)
Bailey, a former star cornerback for the Denver Broncos and then the Washington Redskins, was upset by penalty flags on both plays, particularly one in which Mahomes attempted to slide at the last minute before being met by two Texan defenders. Houston linebacker Henry To’oTo’o was called for unnecessary roughness on the play.
“It’s like everything else. They look at everything,” he said. “So when they’re able to go back and look at these type of plays, like the play you’re referring to, I think. [Saturday] when he falls to the ground and the guys run over him, they don’t even hit him, but they seem to. You should be able to watch this again [on] a certain level and say, well, it wasn’t as egregious as we thought it would be in real time, because these things change the trajectory of the game. You really change the outcome now.
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“Defenders are hesitant to hit him, but there he is. He’s dancing, playing with the guys and looking like he’s the runner, then he falls, and now he’s protected like a quarterback. Once you are outside the pocket, man, it’s fair game I don’t know why he’s protected when he’s outside the pocket like he was, because if he was. ball carrier and he had done the same thing, do you think they throw the flag? No, they don’t.
All it asks for is some consistency.
“So let’s be consistent that way, and when you mess up, try to get it right,” Bailey said. “I think the more calls they can get in real time, the integrity of the game increases and people start to believe that the games aren’t rigged.
“I don’t feel like the games are fixed because I was there, but when I sit here every year – I’m out of the league – the more I start to believe what the fans say about the matches to be “fixed”, because you see things like this happening over and over again, so they just have to find a way to answer the calls correctly and live with it.
Mahomes said Wednesday he doesn’t believe officials favor the Chiefs.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes prepares before the AFC Divisional Round playoff game against the Houston Texans. (Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images)
“I’m just trying to play football at the end of the day. The refs are doing their best to make the game as fair and proper as possible,” Mahomes said. “For me, it’s about going out there, playing hard, trying to do everything I can to win the football game, and then living with the results based on my effort and the how I play, and that’s what we preach here in Kansas City.”
Kansas City meets the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship on Sunday.
