Clay Martin's explanation for terrible Patrick Mahomes calls is infuriating

The Kansas City Chiefs were the beneficiaries of some questionable calls against the Houston Texans, including two personal fouls on Patrick Mahomes which were borderline at best. Mahomes is the face of the league – or one of them at least – so it's understandable why the league would won't to protect him. Officials are never under the direction to make calls in favor of one quarterback that they wouldn't provide another, but Mahomes is a special case.

Much like Tom Brady before him, football is a better sport with Mahomes available, rather than riding the bench with an injury. Unlike Brady before him, Mahomes is not strictly a pocket passer.

In the first quarter, the Chiefs had a drive extended thanks to a roughing the passer call against Will Anderson. However, upon further review it looks as though Anderson hit Mahomes in the chest.

A second personal foul against the Texans on Mahomes occurred in late in the third quarter, when the Chiefs quarterback took off outside the pocket. At the point of contact, Mahomes is technically a runner. He hesitated, ducked under both Houston defenders, and still benefitted from a 15-yard flag despite very little contact.

Shortly thereafter, Mahomes tried to bait officials into another flag as the Chiefs quarterback flopped on what looked to be a simple shove out of bounds.

Clay Martin and NFL refs have terrible explanation for calls in favor of Patrick Mahomes

Mahomes is great at what he does, and he'll gladly use every advantage available to him. If that means some added dramatics to gain 15 yards, it's tough to blame the player himself when it's the officials throwing the flags. Martin's explanation for said decisions won't do him any favors.

"I had forcible contact to the face mask area so I went with roughing the passer on that play," Martinsaid. "So, he slid, obviously, and when he slides, he is considered defenseless. The onus is on the defender. I had forcible contact there to the hairline, to the helmet."

Again, I could not be an NFL official. It's a tough job, and the league seemingly invents new interpretations of the rulebook every season. Martin's every move was diagnosed on Saturday in hopes of proving he and his crew favored the Chiefs, which is clearly not true despite what the numbers suggest.

Yes, Mahomes is 7-0 in games refereed by Martin, but the same can be said for other officials as well. Mahomes wins the vast majority of the games he plays. While not intentional by the part of refs in games Mahomes plays, the NFL should hold its officials to a higher standard, especially in postseason contests.