Micah Parsons believes the Chiefs got an assist from the referees in last weekend’s win over the Bengals.
The deciding call of the game came with Kansas City facing a 4th and 16 down 25-23, as Patrick Mahomes‘ pass to Rashee Rice fell incomplete but Cincinnati’s Daijahn Anthony was flagged for pass interference after jumping into the back of Rice.
That call kept the Chiefs’ drive alive with just 48 seconds remaining and set kicker Harrison Butker up for an eventual game-winner from 51 yards.
And while Parsons praised the two-time defending champions’ resilience afterwards, he also believes the refs were on their side in the close win.
“That game was pretty crazy… a lot of calls went both ways, and I’m going to be honest… I felt like the refs did favor the Chiefs a little bit more,’ he said on his podcast, The Edge, via Fox News.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs pulled off a late comeback win over the Bengals last weekend
But Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons felt like the referees favored KC in the AFC clash
‘But at the end of the day, you can’t put the game in the refs’ hands.’
Parsons added that the Bengals ‘did a lot of great things’ in the close loss and should still be considered contenders going forward.
While former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III said that the pass interference call was unquestionably correct, some fans viewed the late win as a sign of Chiefs favoritism from the NFL.
A statistic spread on social media which noted that Mahomes has had 17 interceptions overturned in his six-year career – the same amount as Tom Brady in his entire 23-year career.
Harrison Butker clinched a win for the Kansas City Chiefs with a last-gasp field goal
However, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell dove into the numbers and found that eight of those interceptions were after a defender had been offsides and Mahomes had a ‘free play.’
Mahomes also has the most passing attempts in the league in the last six years.
Whether or not the referees actually favored them, the Chiefs are now 2-0 and will now have their focus on a Sunday night clash against the Falcons.
