Broncos legend Aqib Talib makes feelings clears as refereeing controversy threatens to engulf Patrick Mahomes Chiefs' playoff run
It's Wednesday, January 22, but controversy continues to envelop Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
On Saturday, the Chiefs went up against the bruised and battered Houston Texans in a Divisional Round matchup at Arrowhead Stadium. While CJ Stroud did not have the services of Stefon Diggs or Tank Dell, the Texans offense still kept the Chiefs defense on their toes. The Texans' defense, however, had a tough time trying to contain Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and the rest of the Chiefs' firepower.
When all was said and done, the Texans were hit with eight penalties for 82 yards whereas the Chiefs were hit with a mere four penalties for 29 yards. Two roughing the passer calls against the Texans defense also riled up several sports stars, who accused the men in zebra stripes of tilting the game in Mahomes' favor. With debate around the refereeing controversy bleeding into Conference Championship week, Denver Broncos legend Aqib Talib took to social media to make his feelings clear on the situation:
"I'm Broncos Country for life!!! But the Chiefs hate is getting out of hand!!! If you hit the QB in his head, it's a flag! No matter your intentions! And please don't say they didn't touch his head."
CJ Stroud calls out NFL referees following playoffs loss to Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs
The Houston Texans camp had more than a few things to say about the officiating at Arrowhead on Saturday. In his post-game press conference, CJ Stroud took a direct shot at the officials, accusing them of bias.
"We got a couple of calls that weren’t called and I’m begging for it but at the same time it is what it is. I can’t argue with the refs and at the same time play football. I got to go and do my job. It’s definitely some things I would question but they’re the professionals getting paid to be refs," Stroud said.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans and running back Joe Mixon also insinuated that they knew the world would be against them when they went up against the Chiefs. Ryans, however, made it a point to note that he was proud of the way his team battled through injury and adversity to get to the Divisional Round, but the goal was to progress well beyond this stage next season.
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