The Kansas City Chiefs are chasing perfection, and on Sunday they welcomed the winless Los Angeles Chargers to Arrowhead Stadium. But while the Chiefs are dominating on the scoreboard, the officiating crew is stealing the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Early in the first half, a controversial roughing the passer penalty was called against Kansas City, and NFL fans immediately took to social media to voice their frustration. The call was so blatantly bad that even Chiefs fans—who are often accused of benefiting from favorable officiating—were left scratching their heads.
“Are fans gonna stop crying now after that roughing call? since the chiefs get all the calls apparently 😂,” one fan posted, sarcastically pointing out the irony.
Another fan joked, “Refs forgot which team has Mahomes,” referencing the usual narrative that Patrick Mahomes gets superstar treatment from officials.
Even NFL legend Shannon Sharpe weighed in, calling it “a bulljive roughing the passer call against Chiefs. HORRIBLE.”
Mahomes has previously addressed the perception that he and the Chiefs receive preferential treatment from referees. “I don’t feel that way,” he said in 2025. “At the end of the day, the referees are doing their best to call the game as fair and as proper as they possibly can. And all you can do is go out there and play the game that you love as hard as you can and live with the results.”
He added, “You get new referees every year, you get new circumstances, and you never can really tell because every play’s different and that’s what makes the NFL so special. I feel like I’ve just continued to play the game, and I just try to win, and whatever happens kind of happens.”
This isn’t the first time officiating has been under the microscope this season. Just last week, college football fans accused the refs of SEC favoritism after a controversial poll drop. And with the Chargers struggling at 0-5, some are already calling for a mid-season offensive coordinator shakeup.
Meanwhile, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce left the game with an ankle injury, adding to the drama. Kelce’s injury status is now a major concern for Kansas City as they look to stay undefeated.
As the game continues, all eyes will be on the officials to see if they can clean up their act or if more controversial calls will dominate the headlines.
