The Kansas City Chiefs managed to stay unbeaten for the start of their regular season. But not without a fair share of controversial decisions that may have overshadowed their performance on the night. Although the Falcons went toe-to-toe with back-to-back Super Bowl Champions. It wasn’t enough, as the Chiefs got their victory in Atlanta with a fair share of decisions going their way.
This led to many throwing referee bias allegations towards the Chiefs, as ex-NFLer Kurt Benkert posted, “How do the Chiefs always get away with the calls? Like, actually, how?” Well, coming to their defense was Chiefs Heiress Tavia Hunt, who shared an Instagram story hitting back against those allegations. She said, “I don’t want to hear any whining about the officiating with the Bryan Cook missed PI. Yes, they got it wrong, just like how they incorrectly penalized Trent McDuffie with PI for the second week in a row.”
Going back to the incident that got the NFL talking about the Chiefs getting an unfair advantage. It was the fourth quarter when the Falcons QB Kirk Cousins lofted a pass towards TE Kyle Pitts in the end zone. Before the pass could have been caught, replays showed that the Chiefs’ safety, Bryan Cook, went for a tackle that wasn’t given a defensive pass interference.
This led many to express their opinion about the referee’s call, “Should have been PI on Cook on the Pitts target.” While others called out the NFL for being biased towards the reigning Super Bowl champions, “NFL no PI!? C’mon now. Y’all are allowed to call flags on the Chiefs, ridiculous.”
However, this call didn’t help Kansas City offense, who went three-and-out on the next drive. The away team was on the receiving end of a number of questionable referring calls, including a roughing the passer call (15-yard penalty, automatic first down) on Chris Jones that erased the Falcons’ three-and-out. The home team went on to score a touchdown on that drive. However, when it mattered the most, the Chiefs’ defense held on, thereby coming away with a victory from Mercedes-Benz Stadium. This is not the first time that the Chiefs have been fortunate with referee calls this season. Travis Kelce also spoke about the decision they got in their week 2 victory over the Bengals.
Travis Kelce’s thoughts on the Chiefs getting an unfair advantage
Going back to the second week, when the Chiefs got a pass interference call on the Bengals safety, Daijahn Anthony, on 4th and long. This eventually led to Harrison Butkar scoring a field goal with 48 seconds remaining on the clock. Shedding light on that decision, Jason Kelce, on his New Heights podcast, asked his brother Travis Kelce, “Nobody likes a fourth down conversion that is essentially given to the Chiefs, but the reality is, what do you want the official to do?”
Expressing his thoughts about the same, Kelce stated, “Did we get lucky? Yeah, we got fortunate that they threw the flag on that 4th and 16. At the end of the day, you can’t put it in the ref’s hands that late in the game. If you’re gonna put it in the ref’s hands, you’re playing with fire.” Even the fans remembered that controversial call last Sunday when the Chiefs managed to get another this weekend. “Bengals CB plays the b— and gets called for PI. Chiefs commit textbook PI(head turned, early contact, not playing the b—), no flag.”
Although there’s no denying that the Chiefs got a bit lucky for the second game in a row, it doesn’t take away the win they had in Atlanta. As Mahomes led the Chiefs to their third victory of the season. They seem to be on the right path in their charge to secure the 3-peat this season.
While we don’t know whether the NFL is helping the Chiefs continue their unbeaten start to the season, do check out our latest Think Tank exclusive interview with Doug Sanders. It’s packed with insights about college football, the current NFL season, and more.
