Longtime NFL Rules Guru Responds to Kansas City Chiefs No-Calls, If the Game Is Rigged in Their Favor Amid Backlash
There’s a lot of noise about the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL being rigged.
If you don’t know, there have been several games this year – and in past years – where the team seem to get lots of penalties and calls in their favor. The issue was magnified during the 2025 playoffs, when Patrick Mahomes received a roughing the passer call after being questionably tackled during their game against the Texans, plus when Josh Allen‘s crucial fourth down “tush push” was called not successful.
While some believe the game is totally rigged, some believe that if there’s a close call in a game, the refs will default and give the advantage to the Chiefs.
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The issue was then again elevated when one of the NFL’s biggest voices, ESPN’s Adam Schefter, tweeted, “Penalties during Chiefs’ eight-game win streak in playoffs
Roughing the passer:
Chiefs (0)
Opponents (6)
Unnecessary roughness:
Chiefs (1)
Opponents (4)”
Now, the NFL’s former vice president of officiating Dean Blandino is responding to the fan chatter.
Keep reading to find out more…
Dean‘s brother apparently think the game is rigged.
“(He says) the league is rigged and that I can’t say anything about it. I say, ‘Listen, hey, I think if there was a script, I think the head of officiating would be pretty important in that process and no one ever invited me in the room,” Dean said while making an appearance on SiriusXM Radio. “My brother is like, ‘They want Taylor Swift at the Super Bowl.’ 150 million people are gonna watch the Super Bowl regardless of Taylor Swift being there. Like enough, stop.”
He did concede, “The Chiefs have gotten the benefit of calls, but good teams make their own breaks. You think about the Patriots. My brother, who is convinced that the league is rigged, that is convinced that I signed a (non-disclosure agreement) when I left the league office that I cannot tell anybody that it’s rigged because I was head of officiating. We grew up in the same household, by the way. I said, ‘Listen, there’s no conspiracy. The officials, there’s too many variables, there’s too much going on.’ To me, it’s the hardest sport — when you think about football with seven different officials, to say, ‘OK, I’m gonna rig this game,’ or the game is rigged from the league office down. The officials are just trying to get it right.”
Dean added, “Yes, have they gotten the benefit of calls? Sure. Other teams get benefits of calls. I just think right now the narrative is so out there that any time any close call goes for the Chiefs, it’s, ‘Oh, here we go again. Here we go again.’ And I’m sure Super Bowl Sunday, we’re going to hear it for the next two weeks.”
The 2025 Super Bowl will air on February 9 and feature the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Find out everything to know about the big game!
By the way, you can go to the Super Bowl as there are still tickets available! Head to StubHub if you’re in the New Orleans area!
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