The Kansas City Chiefs benefitted from many calls in their favor during their mini-dynasty. Frankly, that's what happens when you have a good football team. The Chiefs put their opponents in precarious positions, which often leads to mistakes. Mistakes then lead to penalties. Do you catch my drift?
This season, the Chiefs are not very good. Sure, they can still make the playoffs, but their path is, uh, a dirt road to say the least. Thus, Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers is extra important. KC needs to win, or else. A call that didn't go in their favor riled up the fanbase for the wrong reasons.
This not being called a DPI in the Chargers-Chiefs game is wild.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) December 14, 2025
That's a bear-hug right there.
Wow. pic.twitter.com/SgAUHMQHQz
Did the Chiefs get screwed on a missed pass interference call?
Yes! Very much so. The Chiefs wide receiver, in this case Tyquan Thornton, didn't receive the benefit of the doubt. Thornton isn't the likes of, say, Travis Kelce of Xaiver Worthy, among others, so he was never going to get that call. Decisions in the NFL aren't made solely on name brand, but it certainly helps. I had to look up Thornton's number, and I cover this league for a living. That should tell you all you need to know.
What makes this matter all the funnier is that Chiefs fans believe they have the right to complain about the refs. Perhaps Kansas City hasn't been in tune with the national narrative over the last, say, half-decade plus, but the Chiefs tend to get the calls when they are good. This Chiefs team is bad. I don't have much more to say.
Where's the proof? Chiefs aren't getting the calls they're used to
The Chiefs tend to get the calls when it matters most. This season, that won't mean much if they can't make the postseason. Back in January of 2025, FanSided did a deep dive on the Chiefs so-called penalty advantage. The conclusion really was quite simple.
As of Jan. 23, 2025, the Chiefs had played 11 straight playoff games without committing more penalties than their opponents. That's a pretty huge sample size. Frankly, it was the longest streak of the past 30 years, surpassed only by the 1970-82 Miami Dolphins (18) and 1984-91 Denver Broncos (12).
From 2021-25, the Chiefs committed more penalties than their opponents in just 37 percent of regular-season games. KC had the second-worst penalty differential in the 2025 regular season, but the best last postseason.
So, what does this all mean? The answer was stated above, but I'll happily repeat it. Good teams get calls. Bad teams don't, because they tend to screw up more. Right now, the Chiefs are somewhere in the middle, as they're competing for an AFC Wild Card spot and are certain not to win the AFC West for the first time in years.
Chiefs are learning what rest of NFL has long known about officiating
As someone who identifies bad calls on a weekly basis, I can assure you my job has gotten so much easier the last few years. Some of that has to do with added technology and social media presence – there are literal X accounts devoted to finding the worst calls of the week. However, we also have to point the finger at refs themselves. It's about time NFL officials made this calling their full-time job. You might be shocked to hear that's not the case! These workers are contractors.
The Chiefs have the 12th-most penalties against in the NFL this season. That is a stark difference from previous years. While it'd be easy to blame the refs for that – and plenty of Chiefs fans have tried – I'd argue that the quality of the roster isn't the same. Sure, the Chiefs have been victims of bad calls, but that is just life in the NFL. Welcome to planet earth, KC. We can't all have Hallmark movies written about us.
Chiefs fans now understand what other NFL fans have been complaining about for years – and why Patrick Mahomes and Co. themselves were the targets of conspiracy theories. Officiating has gotten worse year over year. It rarely seems to get better.
Let the revolution begin.