Tom Brady makes feelings clear on suspicious refereeing on Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs
Former NFL quarterback Tom Brady believes Patrick Mahomes and other NFL players need to do a better job of protecting themselves. Mahomes has been the subject of criticism for getting favorable calls from the refs.
During the Houston Texans' win in the divisional round, Mahomes drew two controversial penalties and tried to draw another on a flop.
The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback has been the subject of favorable calls from ref. But, Brady believes when a quarterback is out of their pocket they should lose their protection like every other player.
“The reality for me is offensive players need to protect themselves. If they’re running full speed and the defender’s coming up," Brady said. "The only way to turn the ball over is to create force. You gotta go in there with force and knock it out.
"You’re trying to create turnovers, disrupt the pass, dislodge the ball. The only way to do that is with force and there needs to be an aggressiveness to doing that. When QBs become running backs and they’re out of the pocket, they should lose their protection."
As Brady says, quarterbacks should be considered running backs once they are out of the pocket. That would also allow defenses to get more aggressive and potentially force turnovers which can change the outcome of the game.
Patrick Mahomes doesn't believe he and Chiefs are getting favorable calls
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes disagrees that he and the team get favorable calls.
After the win over Houston, several Texans players said it is tough competing against the refs as well as the Chiefs. Mahomes, however, doesn't think he gets favorable calls.
"I don't feel that way,'' Mahomes said, via ESPN. "At the end of the day, the referees are doing their best to call the game as fair and as proper as they possibly can. And all you can do is go out there and play the game that you love as hard as you can and live with the results. ... I think that's what we preach here in Kansas City.
"You get new referees every year, you get new circumstances, and you never can really tell because every play's different and that's what makes the NFL so special. I feel like I've just continued to play the game, and I just try to win, and whatever happens kind of happens.''
Mahomes and the Chiefs are set to host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday in the AFC Championship.