Patriots’ Bill Belichick Takes Aim at Chiefs: Belichick’s Comments on Penalty Saga Sparks Heated Controversy

NFL fans have been keen to make a big deal out of the Kansas City Chiefs’ ability to avoid key penalties during big games, with some believing that the referees are working in their favour.

The Kansas City Chiefs have been penalised less than their NFL playoff opponents in each of their last 12 games, which is an incredibly rare feat. Patrick Mahomes drew two questionable penalties in the divisional round against the Houston Texans and was seen flopping out of bounds.

Sean Payton thinks Mahomes’ success is ‘pretty simple’ and relates to the confidence that he has built through winning so much. His team are aiming for a record ‘three-peat’ this weekend, and by reaching the Super Bowl they’ve already gone further than any other team in the history of the sport.

Even after starting the year in shaky fashion, Cam Newton has been stunned by Mahomes’ one-in-a-lifetime achievement of making seven consecutive AFC Championship games.

As per usual, the quarterback has delivered when it matters most for his organisation and continues to close in on the legendary Tom Brady in the ‘GOAT’ debate.

Having experienced some close encounters in the playoffs, Shannon Sharpe suggested that Mahomes was the master of one-possession games. They are undefeated in such contests this year.

Bill Belichick says the Kansas City Chiefs are good at avoiding ‘close call’ penalties

Bill Belichick was the architect of the New England Patriots’ 20-year dynasty with Brady behind the wheel of their offense.

He knows what it is like to have most of the nation rooting against his team in the Super Bowl, something which Chiefs head coach Andy Reid faces now.

Dan Orlovksy said Reid deserves comparison to Belichick for his achievements after making another big game, but it’s the penalty saga which a lot of people are talking about heading into the game.

Belichick defended the Chiefs and reminded everyone that the key to avoiding penalties is by playing clean, good football.

“As a total team, we were one of the least penalised teams in the league for a long, long time,” he said. “Almost two decades and the Chiefs are doing the same thing. Really the key to it is playing good football.

“Let’s start with eliminating pre-snap penalties, which there are really no excuse for and eliminating post-whistle penalties.

“Occasionally there’s a close call there, but roughing the passer, hitting guys out of bounds, roughing the punter, personal fouls, arguing with the referees. All those things, those are all preventable.”

How Andy Reid ‘fixed a problem’ which plagued Patrick Mahomes in 2024

For the first time in his career as a starting quarterback, Mahomes failed to reach 4,000 passing yards in the regular season, despite claiming another AFC West title.

His yards per attempt and touchdowns beat and equalled the lowest tallies of his career respectively as well.

Reid fixed a problem which plagued Mahomes by correcting their left tackle position. Joe Thuney moved out to the position from the guard spot which he usually plays.

Thuney is one of the most talented interior offensive line players in the league and is an ideal candidate for the Chiefs to task with such a big challenge.

It should give the team and Mahomes more creative freedom in the Super Bowl, with more protection for their prized asset and less need to force the ball downfield.