Chiefs own incredible referee advantage in NFL playoffs over the last few years

It must be nice to have this kind of a favorable whistle.Or perhaps it’s just another way to look at their greatness.The Kansas City Chiefs are getting an incredibly favorable whistle in the playoffs, according to data guru Warren Sharp.In their 11 playoff games since 2021, the Chiefs’ opponents have had 10 games with at least 10 penalties against, while Kansas City have had zero games with 10-plus penalties against.There is not a single game in that span where the Chiefs had been penalized more than their opponent.It seems like the Chiefs are constantly being given an advantage in the playoffs by the referees, but why could that be? Maybe Andy Reid is just able to prepare his team better than opponent coaches? The Chiefs were called with 5.4 penalties per game during the 2024 regular season, the fewest in the NFL.However, in their last 65 regular-season games, they’ve accumulated more penalty yards in 38 of them (55.9 percent).The Jets were by far the leagues most-penalized team (8.1 per game) during the regular season, the highest per-game figure of any team since 2019.And if you don’t think coaching matters, think again.Kansas City was called with 36 penalties in those 11 playoff games, a 3.2 average.Perhaps the game is called differently in the playoffs, or maybe the Chiefs are good at influencing referee decisions.Kansas City has been under fire from NFL fans who are upset with the way the Chiefs are handled, in particular Patrick Mahomes, who was seen flopping during the Chiefs-Texans divisional-round game.The Chiefs line up to face the Bills in a huge playoff game Sunday where some eyes will certainly be on the referees to see where the flags go, especially after the focus on the calls regarding Mahomes.The Chiefs have seen four unnecessary roughness calls and seven roughing the passer penalties go against their opponents in 11 playoff games.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs have been called with one unnecessary roughness penalty and one roughing the passer.Cou...