From cheating allegations, unlikeable players, Taylor Swift’s boyfriend and a painfully boring offensive play style, the Kansas City Chiefs have transformed into the most unlikeable team in the National Football League (NFL). Last Sunday, nearly every American outside of Kansas City was praying for the Chiefs’ loss, as Super 59 in New Orleans saw the Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles. But where did this hate come from? Is this hate justified? The answer is yes.
The Chief’s rise to glory was sudden. Following years of relative regular season success but no deep playoff run, the 2018 Chiefs made an American Football Conference (AFC) Championship run under the reins of a rookie Patrick Mahomes, but ultimately lost at the hands of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
At first, many NFL fans, including myself, were fans of the 2018 Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes was young and exciting, but more importantly, he was a challenge to Tom Brady’s dominance in the AFC. Kansas City in the following years would turn into a dynasty even more unlikeable than the Patriots.
The Chief’s first wave of hate came during the 2019 campaign which saw them win the Lombardi Trophy over the local San Francisco 49ers. One online newspaper, Masslive from Massachusetts expressed their frustration after the Chief’s week 14 win over the Patriots. It wasn’t necessarily the final score that upset the author, but the officiating. Multiple momentum-shifting plays in the Patriots’ favor were called back. Such as touchdowns, fumble recoveries and plays putting the Patriots within a yard of the goal line.
Poor officiating, and downright favoritism from both the referees and the NFL has been a major issue surrounding the Chiefs dynasty.
This year’s AFC Championship game saw Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs take on the Buffalo Bills, which unsurprisingly, the Chiefs won. Almost anyone who’s been watching football for more than a year can agree that Xavier Worthy did not catch the ball that placed the Chiefs on the 3-yard line. One arm pinning the ball should not mean possession, and when the ball hits the ground, Worthy still barely has one arm on the ball, using the ground to gain possession of the ball. And while Josh Allen’s fourth down was controversial, I think we can all agree that it would’ve brought a fresh set of downs if Patrick Mahomes was the one carrying the football.
The AFC Championship was so unbelievably frustrating, that it led to the league commissioner Roger Goodell having to make a statement about the allegations. Something that should’ve been addressed years ago.
The Chiefs Kingdom and Patrick Mahomes faithful argue that the “refs rigging the game” argument is entirely made up, especially concerning penalty yards. Statistically, the Chiefs only gained 20 more yards than their opponents in the 2024-25 season. Additionally, Mahomes, out of 73 eligible quarterbacks since 2009, ranked 28th in roughing-the-passer penalty calls per 1,000 passing attempts (6.3 roughing-the-passer calls). According to Sportico.com, the Chiefs, since 2020, have ranked in the bottom half of the league in win percentage added from penalties.
While this may be true, the stats in the playoffs tell a different story. According to the same Sportico.com article, the Chiefs also have a +45% win percentage added from penalties in the playoffs. The moments in which these flags occur can easily turn the expected outcome of a game on its head.
Some examples include: the 2022 AFC Championship, where Mahomes was pushed out of bounds near the end of the game, setting up the winning field goal. The 2022 Super Bowl against the Eagles, where a controversial holding call within the two-minute warning secured a Chief victory. In the 2024 Divisional round, multiple controversial penalties were drawn by Mahomes, such as a late slide that drew a roughing the passer, and a hit on Mahomes that was labeled as a helmet-to-helmet. In the 2024 AFC Championship, Kelce was caught taunting the Bills’ Damar Hamlin, but the flag was only thrown after the Bills slapped Kelce’s helmet.
Obviously, the Chiefs are a good football team. Mahomes is among the greatest arm talents the league has seen in a while, Travis Kelce, while annoying, is among the greatest tight ends to play the game, and Tyreek Hill, who visited the Super Bowl twice with the Chiefs, is one of the best wide receivers of the Late 2010s era. However, the Chief’s legacy on the game is undoubtedly tainted by their controversies. The questionable instances listed above are just a few of the missed calls, generous flags and blatant favoritism that have helped the Chiefs form their dynasty.
Now, NFL fans just saw the Eagles manhandle the Chiefs in Super Bowl 59. Where besides an early AJ Brown offensive pass interference, the Eagles were flagged surprisingly evenly as they cruised to victory. Which emphasizes the question, what is the Chiefs’ dynasty without the help of the refs? It’s hard to believe that a three-peat would even be possible if the flags were called better in the past.
As a lifelong NFL fan, growing up in the Brady era and the Patriots’ constant dominance seemed like the worst thing possible. Now, as the Chiefs dynasty seems to show no sign of slowing down and no sign of the refs’ aid stopping, I’m starting to realize that the NFL is slowly dying, transforming into an entertainment industry rather than a league built on competitiveness. So as more fans seem to realize the same thing, and the NFL continues to deny these claims, we can only hope that a better investigation into NFL officiating brings this issue to light.
