Following a divisional matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs that was full of controversy, including the NFL referees, the Houston Texans were not pleased with their performance on Saturday. If that wasn’t enough, NFL referee Clay Martin was asked about two specific penalties in this game and why they were called, per Aaron Wilson on X.
When asked about Will Anderson’s roughing the passer penalty, Martin responded: “I had forcible contact to the facemask area and so I went with roughing the passer on that play.”
Will Anderson was called for roughing the passer on Patrick Mahomes on this play.#HOUvsKC | ESPN, ABC, ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/bTn7Z5XoLZ
— ESPN (@espn) January 18, 2025
And as seen in the replay, there was the smallest amount of contact to Mahomes’ head, making Martin’s claim valid — even if it’s upsetting to see. With the cards stacked up against most defenders in the modern NFL, it’s never been tougher to play defense. When it’s against Mahomes, that difficulty seems to increase.
Now, another play garnered a lot of online attention, and that was another hit on Mahomes that resulted in an unnecessary roughness penalty against the Texans.
Martin’s response was: “Yes, absolutely. So, he slid, obviously, and when he slides, he is considered defenseless. The onus is on the defender. I had forcible contact there to the hairline, to the helmet.”
15 yards for unnecessary roughness for colliding above a sliding Patrick Mahomes pic.twitter.com/7tblh6DLPC
— Christian D’Andrea (@TrainIsland) January 18, 2025
While both penalties were wishy-washy, this one appeared even more egregious than the last.
While both penalties were wishy-washy, this one appeared even more egregious than the last.
Considering how late he slid in this play, it’s difficult for defenders to consider him defenseless. In that play, Mahomes was running around, and at the last second, he gave up his body.
The rules defenders must abide by are already difficult to follow, but when playing against Mahomes and the Chiefs, that difficulty rises even more.
Although Martin explained why both penalties got called, it doesn’t seem to have swayed the masses’ opinion on how Chiefs games get officiated.
Dakota Zientek is an experienced associate editor for ClutchPoints, covering the NFL, NCAA Football, and the NFL Draft. The Iowa graduate has bylines at FanSided and Pro Football Network.
