The community of supposed conspiracy theorists who remain convinced NFL officials show favoritism to the Chiefs is growing.
The Chiefs are on their way to their third consecutive Super Bowl. However, after two consecutive playoff games full of highly controversial calls that all went Kansas City’s way and 12 postseason games demonstrating favoritism going back to the 2021 playoffs, like most modern conspiracy theories, this one is starting to look a lot less like a theory, and more like reality.
Though, to show he’s not immune to the charge of favoritism being lobbed at his own New England dynasty, the former Patriot tight end and Tom Brady’s favorite target confessed that even his quarterback received some leniency from the officials.
“It was Tom, but he deserved it at the time. He was an 18-year vet, and he took his punishment as a young buck during his first eight years in the league,” Gronk said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. “Oh my lord, he used to get lit up. It was understandable he got calls.’
However, when it comes to the Chiefs, Gronk sees the refs as being “definitely … more lenient” towards Kansas City.
“It’s been shown throughout the regular season and extending into the playoffs,” Gronk said.
The future Hall of Famer later added, “I just feel like there’s something, like, maybe give them an extra call or two. Don’t make it too obvious, but make it a little obvious.”
While allowing for the possibility of favoritism, Gronk did not let that stand as an excuse for their opponents.
“You have opportunities to beat them, you got to overcome all situations, and the Buffalo Bills need to make championship plays in championship moments, and they didn’t come through. You got to make plays in order to beat the Chiefs, and you can’t blame it on the refs,” Gronk insisted.
“It doesn’t matter. You still have to beat the Chiefs, and you still have to come through with big plays at the end of the game in order to beat them, and no team has done that yet.”
There was no lie detected in anything Gronk said here. However, while Brady certainly got plenty of calls, all the way up through his time with the Patriots and even including the end of his career in Tampa, with the Chiefs, it’s not just Mahomes who is getting calls.
Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis did a deep dive after Kansas City’s controversial victory over the Texans in the Divisional Round. It revealed that the Chiefs (as a team) have been assessed fewer penalties than their opponents in ten of 11 playoff games since 2021.
Not only that, Sharp’s analysis revealed that an overwhelming percentage of the key penalties in games, the 15-yard penalties and other game-altering calls, have nearly all gone Kansas City’s way.
Tom Brady got plenty of calls. However, Sharp’s study revealed that no team – not the Patriots or anywhere else – has received fewer penalties than their opponents in that many postseason games in decades, not the disparity in game-altering calls that the Chiefs have, at least not in recent years.
