'Mahomes Rules' Are Making a Mockery of NFL Officiating

"Troy and Joe, I agree based on what you saw," ESPN rules analyst Russell Yurk said to Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on the broadcast. "It looked like he did come up high with the helmet But it looked like that first contact was to the upper chest area. I didn't see anything there that supported a foul. Replay can come in and pick up a flag for a foul for high contact to the head and neck area quarterback, but if there's any contact at all, they can't pick it up.

"It looks like there might have been some contact even if not forcible enough to be a foul. There's enough that they can't pick it up."

To be so persnickety with what New York can and cannot review is ridiculous. Does the NFL want to get these calls right, or not?

Then, with 1:52 left in the third quarter, the Chiefs had first-and-10 at their own 35-yard line. Mahomes slid late, two Texans defenders collided above him, and somehow, linebacker Henry To'oTo'o was flagged for unnecessary roughness. 

"Oh, come ON!" Buck exhorted as the penalty was called. 

"Yeah, I mean, he's a runner, and I could not disagree with that one more," Aikman said. "And he barely gets hit. That's the second penalty now that's been called against the Texans."

"Troy, I agree with you," Yurk said. "There's no enforceable contact to the head and neck area. The two Houston players hit each other. That should not have been a foul."

When it comes to roughing the passer, which is a judgment call, the league's Rule Book states emphatically that "When in doubt about a roughness call or potentially dangerous tactic against the quarterback, the Referee should always call roughing the passer

But that doesn't cover all the roughing the passer (and other quarterback-related) calls that should be called, and aren't. 

Martin's explanations after the game did nothing to help matters. 

This game had an odd feeling to it before it even began from an officiating perspective. Many non-Chiefs fans were unhappy with Martin's selection to run a crew from the start for one specific reason: The Chiefs are now 7-0 in games when Martin is the referee. It would have been easy enough for the NFL to put Martin on another game for this simple reason alone. 

Are there "Mahomes Rules" in the NFL? Is the league setting up the game's most well-known player for officiating favoritism? This was said of Tom Brady for years and years, and whether it's true or not (it likely isn't), the perception just took a major step forward. 

What's the solution? Simple. Make all aspects of roughing the passer immediately reviewable, and dial back the obvious intent to protect quarterbacks who are runners to an illogical degree. 

Perhaps the NFL is fine with officiating controversy, because it generally goes viral and sucks all the air out of the room, especially when Mahomes and the Chiefs are involved. But it does nothing for the integrity of the game, and it hurts the integrity of the Chiefs' win. This is a battle-tested, brilliant team that doesn't need the help. 

As I like to say when it comes to officiating, it's wise to observe Hanlon's Razor: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." But in this game, with this referee, and the calls we saw, it's understandable if some think the result is inevitably slanted in Kansas City's favor.

Whether it is or not.