Controversial Chiefs vs. Texans penalties should not have been called, NFL officiating expert says

Texans’ penalties vs. Chiefs in NFL Playoffs should not have been called, NFL officiating expert says

The Houston Texans did not mince any words following their divisional round playoff exit on Saturday. In Houston’s eyes, the officials played a significant role in their 23-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

“We knew going into this game that it was ‘Us vs. Everybody,‘“ said Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans after the contest. “And when I say everybody — it’s everybody.”

“We knew it was going to be us versus the refs going into this game,” added defensive end Will Anderson Jr.

The Texans, who had entered the game as 8.5-point underdogs, went toe-to-toe with the two-time reigning world champions early. Despite out-gaining their opponent and being more successful on third downs, however, they also held the lead in penalties.

Whereas the Chiefs were flagged four times for 29 yards in front of their home crowd, the visiting Texans were called for eight infractions resulting in a loss of 82 yards. The volume itself was not the main gripe for the team afterwards, but rather the nature of some of the calls.

And in the eyes of NFL officiating expert Ben Austro of Football Zebras, the most controversial flags should indeed not have been called.

The first of those came with 7:00 to play in the first quarter, when Anderson was called for roughing the passer on a Patrick Mahomes incompletion. Instead of the Chiefs facing a 4th-and-3, the flag kept their drive alive; seven plays later they kicked a field goal to go up 6-3.

According to Austro, the correct call would have been none at all:

Texans defensive end Will Anderson was flagged for roughing the passer. The contact was high, but there was no forcible contact to the head and neck area. This should not have been penalized.

He added that replay rules could have overturned that call, but since there was contact to the head no such action was taken. The flag stood, allowing Kansas City to gain a free 15 yards.

The second controversial penalty came with 1:52 left in the third quarter. The Texans had just manufactured a massive 15-play, 82-yard touchdown drive to reduce their deficit to one point. Up 13-12, Kansas City tried to get some momentum back on its next possession, something the team managed to do thanks to a spectacular 11-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to tight end Travis Kelce.

That play was uncontroversial, something that was not the case earlier in the series. Making a tackle against Mahomes on a 9-yard scramble, linebacker Henry To’oTo’o was hit with an unnecessary roughness call.

Austro again disagreed with the call:

A second hit on quarterback Patrick Mahomes was ruled unnecessary roughness. In reality this should not have been a flag, and in the context of the earlier erroneous flag, this fans the flames of preferential treatment.

On a run like this, there are NO quarterback protections, only those available to any other runner. Mahomes can be contacted because of his late decision to slide, except the Texans may not forcibly contact him in the head or neck area. Defenders are instructed to go over the top.

There is contact to his head, but there is also contact to the body which makes the contact incidental and not forcible to the head. What officials do see if Henry To’oTo’o entering the tackle with his forearm in front. There is a signature of a forcible shot to the head, and unfortunately the crew took this as a foul.

The officiating expert later added that “[t]he well-worn trope of the Chiefs having the officials on their side is obviously false, but games like this feed into it.” From that perspective, the Texans’ frustration over the officiating is understandable.

However, those penalties were only one part of Houston’s undoing. Leaving five points on the board due to three total missed kicks, going 1-for-3 in the red zone, and taking a 16-yard sack on a 4th-and-10 in the fourth quarter did not help the team’s chances of leaving Kansas City with a victory either.

The Texans needed to bring their A-game in order to have a successful game on Saturday afternoon, and they did not. Neither did the officials.