NFL accidentally admits its biggest problem in Patrick Mahomes penalty explanation

The Houston Texans were up in arms about some questionable calls which went in Patrick Mahomes favor during their AFC Divisional Round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. While those decisions alone didn't make the difference, it's just one in a long line of examples of the Chiefs receiving calls in their favor at home, especially in the NFL Playoffs.

Much of this cannot be blamed on Mahomes or Kansas City. The Chiefs are in the midst of a dynastic run. They put opposing teams in compromised positions, of course they're bound to get a few calls. Saturday's game against Houston was not a great look for the NFL, however, as Mahomes received two personal foul penalties which were weak at best, and even tried to bait officials into another on a flop out of bounds. Clay Martin was asked about the penalties after the game, and his explanation didn't really help matters.

"I had forcible contact to the face mask area so I went with roughing the passer on that play," Martin said. "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."

That explanation is likely why the NFL had VP of officiating Walt Anderson on NFL Network Sunday morning to further explain. Anderson defended the officiating crew and was adamant they followed the rulebook, which is entirely the problem.

Walt Anderson points to a major flaw in roughing the passer penalties

Anderson provided several caveats, stating that the rules committee is expected to look more into roughing the passer penalties as well as replay assist this offseason. He defended Martin and his crew, though, stating they did everything by the book. This leads us to our next point, which is that the book is the problem.

The rulebook has provided defenders very little leeway as it pertains to roughing the passer penalties. Defenders cannot hit quarterbacks in the head, but on Anderson's first penalty, he appeared to make contact with Mahomes chest. Defenders are also not allowed to land on a quarterback with their entire body weight, or hit them too hard when out of the pocket. Frankly, it's getting tough to tell what's legal and what isn't, and officials are trained to throw the flag more often than not on this penalty in particular, per Anderson.

Expect Anderson and the NFL rules committee to spend time this offseason providing more clarity, especially on personal fouls and roughing the passer. Replay review could be utilized better, too, especially in postseason game to ensure such mistakes don't happen again. The last thing the league needs are these prevailing narratives.