Getty Las Vegas Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby sacks Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Chiefs Kingdom has declared war on the NFL officials and they might be winning.
After the latest Chris Jones penalty versus the Las Vegas Raiders — one that most fans would describe as bogus — Chiefs supporters have taken to social media to expose penalties that the referees missed.
One Raiders no-call involved quarterback Patrick Mahomes II, who appeared to be head-butted and shoved after the whistle by Las Vegas pass rusher Maxx Crosby. The moment went viral after a Chiefs fan shed light on it. It currently has over 5,200 likes and almost 270,000 views.
Maxx Crosby was allowed to do this with no flag but we lost a game for words?
I’d love an explanation on that, but officials don’t have to answer questions after these games.
Chiefs Fans Share Video of Maxx Crosby Shoving Patrick Mahomes
Different versions of that clip quickly made rounds on Twitter and retired Kansas City Royals vice president Mike Swanson ended up getting a hold of it.
He promptly directed it at the NFL, stating: “Hey @NFL, get your rules together. Two weeks ago, @StoneColdJones [Chris Jones] was talking to Matt Ryan of the [Indianapolis] Colts. No pushing, shoving, helmets colliding [and] yet he got a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Then last night’s crew let this happen, but didn’t know roughing the passer.”
Swanson is referencing Jones’ first major flag against the Colts, as well as his most recent roughing the passer penalty. The Indy call reportedly cited “disturbing language” that was directed at Ryan, but Crosby must have said something spicy himself because Mahomes responded with four touchdowns (zero interceptions), a 117.6 passer rating, and an absolutely incensed “I’M HERE!” — which was also caught on camera.
“IM HEREEEE” 🐐🐐🐐
Who knows what Crosby said but he clearly makes helmet-to-helmet contact with Mahomes. That alone should be enough to call unsportsmanlike conduct, in theory.
Either way, this probably wasn’t the wisest decision from the Raiders star being that Mahomes ended up going berserk and leading a 17-point comeback. Crosby should know better, “don’t piss off Patrick” is the first rule of defense 101 in the AFC West.
Chiefs Must Play Buttoned-up Game vs Bills
During Week 5, Tony Romo warned Kansas City that the Buffalo Bills are looking scary right now. He’s not wrong — between Josh Allen playing at an MVP level and the Von Miller addition making Buffalo’s defense that much more explosive.
Where Chiefs fans beg to differ is that KC is scary too. Jones is playing at an elite level in 2022, with 20 quarterback pressures and two sacks, and you clearly don’t want to make Mahomes and Travis Kelce angry.
This should be a tight battle with both teams playing at a very high level, and that means you cannot let the referees decide the game for you. There’s no doubt about it, things will get testy between these two AFC rivals but the Chiefs have to keep things as buttoned-up as possible considering the recent flags around the NFL.
Keep the trash talk and celebrations to a minimum, do not make contact after the whistle, and avoid any late hits — or slams — on Allen. It may not be the old-school smashmouth football we’ve all grown to love, but at least the refs will have no excuse when it comes to making any controversial calls.
If you take that element out of the game, it’ll come down to things like execution, game plan, and talent — and that’s what everybody wants to see at the end of the day.
Two teams in the AFC are 4-1, Buffalo and Kansas City. Barring a tie, we’ll get a sole five-win leader after Week 6.