Conspiracy theories have been around for years but they are extremely prevalant in our modern social-media age, especially with how they promulgate the general discussion. And around the NFL, there are a lot of people — and I mean a LOT of people — who believe the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes gain an advantage every single week thanks to favorable calls from the officials.
Whether it’s because of Mahomes or because of Taylor Swift or because of whatever, there are just a lot of people who think the Chiefs get all the calls. The Chiefs wholeheartedly disagree, for the record. The AFC Championship game didn’t help matters, no matter what Bills players might have said.
It’s bad enough that ahead of Super Bowl LIX, in his annual state of the league press conference, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was asked about the “widespread” belief that the Chiefs get the calls, and Goodell called it “ridiculous” while praising the league’s officiating crews.
“This sort of reminds me a little bit of the script,” Goodell said. “That I write a script and that I have a script for the entire season. I think for a lot of … those theories are things that happen on social media and they get a new life. … Nobody wants it to be their theory. I think it reflects a lot of the fans’ passion. And it’s also a reminder for us how important officiating is. I think the men and women who officiate in the NFL are outstanding.
“It’s a ridiculous theory for anyone who might take it seriously. But at the end of the day, it’s something we always have to continue to work on, how do we make our officiating better at all times.”
Goodell pointed out the Chiefs are just a prime example of the NFL’s close games and how things can come down to a play here or a play there.
“When you look at the Chiefs record, which is an amazing thing, people talk about the competitiveness of our league. The Chiefs with their 15 wins, 15-2, 11 of those 15 games were within one score,” Goodell continued. “And I think that talks about the competitiveness of our game and the importance of how we officiate it, but also the competitiveness with how we play it.”
There were several follow-up questions on the Chiefs (they’re a hot topic!), with Goodell being asked how the NFL handles things “behind the scenes” with officials to make sure no bias is built into their on-field decision-making processes.
“I can’t tell you all the things that happen behind [the scenes], but our officials are evaluated in several ways,” Goodell said. “It’s not just the things that go on the field, but things that go on in their own lives. We have very tight controls over that and monitor it very closely in several ways. These officials are outstanding people. It’s a tough job. A really hard job. Half the group sees it one way and half the group sees it the other way. But I’ve never seen a group of people more dedicated to getting it right than our NFL officials.”
When pressed by moderator and Fox host Curt Menefee about the officials, Goodell pointed out the game has changed dramatically over the past several decades.
“As you know, every network has so-called officiating experts, that have been officials on our fields. And I think they’ve been helpful in trying to explain those rules. And I think we have been more transparent. When we make a mistake on the field, we say it. We’re not afraid to do that. And there are so many times when there’s confusion and they don’t understand the rules. And that includes people on television.
“This game has gotten so much faster, you’re seeing so much more than you were even six years ago.”
Goodell — correctly — pointed out the game’s completely different from the year 2000, that the game is substantially faster, that there are way more camera angles available on the broadcast and that as a result it’s much more difficult for on-field officials to make snap decisions without the benefit of “16 different replay angles.”
He also noted replay assist was a big benefit for the league this year and could be expanded.
“Replay assist was a big step forward for us. I see us in the future adding more plays,” Goodell said. “I think there are areas like facemasks and so many other areas that we can assist officials. They don’t have the benefit of going back and looking at 16 replays from every angle. They have to make a snap decision.”
On that last point, I think it’s missed a LOT just how much of a difference the league’s implementation of replay assist aided the officials in terms of getting calls right on the field and getting them right in an expedited fashion. Even if officials get a call wrong, it can be overturned quickly thanks to the league’s command center stepping in and making sure the correct outcome gets enacted on the field.
For several years, the league was applying replay assist pretty randomly and now it feels like there’s some real consistency to it, which has gone a long way in making anyone watching the games believe there’s a more fair handling of controversial incidents on the field.
That hasn’t stopped the internet from creating a slew of memes relating to the Chiefs and the officials — some of them pretty NSFW, so be careful with your googling — but the reality here is Goodell is right. The Chiefs, like the Patriots before them, win a ton of games. They’re involved in a lot of close games as a result, too, and probably catch some breaks. They might get fewer penalties than their opponents, but it’s also entirely possible they’re just a more well-coached team. Because they win more often, it could feel like they’re getting those breaks.
But the Chiefs aren’t winning because the NFL wants them to win for ratings. Just ask Patrick Mahomes. They’re winning games because they have one of the greatest coach and quarterback combos in the history of the league on their side.
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Author: Will Brinson
February 3, 2025 | 6:35 pm
