Dean Blandino, the former NFL head of officiating and current officiating analyst for Fox Sports, disputed the claim that NFL referees give the Kansas City Chiefs preferential treatment.
“Do teams have breaks occasionally?” he said to TMZ Sports. “They indeed do.” And not every decision is correct. And occasionally, that occurs. I believe it balances out in the long run. However, while I watch, I don’t perceive these games and think, ‘Oh my, the Chiefs are receiving all these calls.’ These are tight, tight plays, and they just happened to work out in the Chiefs’ favor on Sunday.
Indeed, there is proof indicating that in the playoffs, at least, the Chiefs appear to receive more calls.
However, this doesn’t suggest that the officials are intentionally biased towards the Chiefs, although certain elements may be influencing the situation. To begin with, the Chiefs are a well-disciplined team that executes intelligent, situational strategies. Additionally, they exert significant pressure on defenses through their dynamic offensive strategy, the dual threat posed by Patrick Mahomes as both a runner and a passer, and their skill in concealing blitzes and defensive pressure.
Pressure leads to errors and poor choices, and the Chiefs maintain continuous strain on their opponents during a game.
Additionally, there exists a more human factor at work—the Chiefs have hosted numerous playoff games during the Mahomes’ era, and the officials might feel subtle and psychological pressure from the Kansas City supporters. Home teams frequently receive a more favorable whistle.
However, regarding the more sinister allegation against the Chiefs and the NFL—that the league alters games to guarantee a Kansas City victory—Blandino considered it ridiculous.
“For it to truly be a conspiracy, do you realize how many people would need to be involved?” “Someone, at some point, would make a mistake and it would become known,” he stated. “If there’s a space in the NFL offices where they were drafting the script, I was never invited—despite being the head of officiating.” “I believe I would be a significant contributor to that.”