Complaints about Patrick Mahomes getting too many calls in his favor could soon be abolished if the NFL’s proposed rule change gets green-lighted.
The NFL is expected to expand replay assist into plays that include the quarterback slide, per ESPN’s sources.
Replay assist was enacted in 2021 to allow officials and designated members of the officiating department to provide a second opinion with on-field calls in certain game situations.
The rule has been practiced in games when there is clear and obvious video evidence, such as a spot of the ball or a foul, a complete or incomplete pass, and touching of the ball or a line.
In 2024, the league expanded the rule to add areas where information could be provided when a penalty flag had been placed on the field. These include fouls for hits getting out of bounds, blows to the head, and intentional grounding.
ESPN reported that additional elements could be added this season after replay assist came into question after the Chiefs-Texans playoff game last weekend.
The NFL could make a major rule change that would take away Patrick Mahomes’ sliding tactic
The rule change comes while the Chiefs are being accused of getting a boost from NFL officials
Mahomes scrambled out of pocket, slid beneath two Houston defenders, and drew a 15-yard penalty on the Texans for unnecessary roughness.
‘Oh come on,’ ESPN analyst Troy Aikman said during the telecast as the penalty was called. ‘I mean, he’s a runner and I could not disagree with that one more. He barely gets hit.’
Aikman later said the NFL has ‘got to address it in the offseason.’
‘You can’t, as a quarterback, run around and play games with the defenders and then get called for a penalty,’ Aikman added.
The quarterback slide will likely be included when the NFL’s competition committee meets throughout the offseason. The voting concludes in late March at the league’s annual meeting, which will be held in Palm Beach this year.
According to ESPN, the belief around the league is that there is no reason to bring further objectivity and clarity to a play that fans at home and in the stadium can see.
After the Chiefs’ 23-14 divisional playoff win over Houston, Mahomes denied the accusations
Texans pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. was flagged early into the game for roughing the passer. He later claimed Houston ‘knew it was going to be us versus the refs.’
After being the beneficiary of questionable game-calling all season, Mahomes pushed back on claims that the Chiefs are getting favorable calls.
‘I don’t feel that way,” Mahomes said Wednesday. ‘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.
‘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 feel like I’ve just continued to play the game, and I just try to win, and whatever happens, kind of happens.”
The Chiefs are two wins away from their third straight Super Bowl title as they gear up to face the Buffalo Bills in the AFC title game.
