Patrick Mahomes postgame press conference conveniently left bad calls out

The Kansas City Chiefs didn't need any help from the officiating crew to defeat the Houston Texans in their Divisional Round playoff game. Nonetheless, they got some help anyway from Clay Martin and his crew. Patrick Mahomes is still undefeated in games officiating by Martin. While much of that is coincidence, it hasn't stopped NFL conspiracy theorists from assuming the script is in.

Martin, for his part, didn't do his calls justice when asked about several questionable personal fouls called against the Texans based on hits Mahomes took.

"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."

Yeah, that's not going to cut it. It didn't help that Mahomes himself flopped near the sideline when he was shoved out of bounds by a Texans defender late in the game. Thankfully, Martin had enough sense not to make what would've been the most egregious personal foul call of the season.

Patrick Mahomes wasn't asked about controversial calls in Chiefs win, which makes sense

After the game, Texans players and even DeMeco Ryans were rightly unhappy with the officials. While they didn't blame Martin and his crew for the result, players like Joe Mixon did state the obvious – when playing in Arrowhead in the NFL Playoffs, it's you vs. literally everyone, including the officials.

As for Mahomes, his postgame press conference was business as usual. In fact, it was a little disappointing he wasn't asked about the calls in his favor, or the reaction those decisions received. Not once in his entire conversation with the media was Mahomes asked about the plays in question.

I'll be quite frank: It's entirely normal for the media to focus on the positive after such a big win as the Chiefs chase their third straight title. Asking the winning quarterback about controversial calls which went in his favor (without evidence or quotes to back up that controversy) wouldn't be appreciated. There's a far better chance of Mahomes, Andy Reid and Co. addressing said calls during the week, when they've had a chance to look at the footage and read the comments by Texans players.

Professional athletes are experts in media relations, as well. As a three-time Super Bowl champion, Mahomes doesn't have anything to prove to those who dislike him because it's convenient. There's a lot of overlap with those fans and NFL conspiracy theorists, which ought to surprise no one.