Houston Texans running play on offense (left). Patriots player on ground (right). The NFL refs missed several important calls.Houston Texans vs. New England Patriots (Photos via CBS Sports)
Football fans are accusing the NFL refs of “rigging” the Houston Texans-New England Patriots Week 6 contest after several blown calls went against one team.

The Texans defeated the one-win Patriots 41-21 to improve to 5-1 on the season. The victory also marked Houston’s first road win over the Patriots, who had won the first seven meetings (including two playoff games) at Gillette Stadium. That said, DeMeco Ryans’ group unquestionably benefited from several head-scratching mistakes by the NFL refs today.

In what might go down as the worst officiating mistake of 2024, Ronald Torbert’s group failed to call a clear-cut facemask penalty on Houston’s Mario Edwards Jr. as he tried to stop Patriots running back Antonio Gibson:

Instead of getting a fresh set of downs and potentially getting the game-tying touchdown, Drake Maye fumbled on the next play. Stefon Diggs caught a 10-yard touchdown to extend Houston’s lead, and they never looked back.

That wasn’t the only mistake by the NFL refs. Marte Mapu of New England was called for defensive pass interference on this play, which gave Houston a fresh set of downs to set up the game’s opening score:

 

The NFL refs also missed a potential offensive pass interference call on Joe Mixon’s first quarter touchdown:

Social media accused the officials of rigging the game in favor of Houston following all of these blown calls:

For what it’s worth, the Texans were penalized four times for 38 yards, while New England was flagged a whopping nine times for 50 yards.

NFL Refs Take The Spotlight Again

It’s not what fans, coaches or players want, but Sunday was another instance of the NFL officials being a top storyline because of their many mistakes.

The NFL refs also failed to penalize the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a dangerous head hit on Chris Olave that led to a fumble return TD in the first quarter, and the Baltimore Ravens got away with several holding calls against Washington.

VIDEO: Cameras Caught Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes Getting Away With Blatantly Illegal Hand Gesture That Every Other NFL Player Is Getting Flagged For

Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City Chiefs lining up behind center.Patrick Mahomes (Photo via NFL)
A new camera angle shows Patrick Mahomes getting away with a clear-as-day unsportsmanlike penalty during the Kansas City Chiefs’ Monday night game against the New Orleans Saints.

Patrick Mahomes had a strong outing against a stingy New Orleans defense, completing 28 pass attempts for 331 yards to lead the Chiefs to a 26-13 victory. Kansas City has reached its first 5-0 start since 2018, when Mahomes took over as the Chiefs’ quarterback.

Mahomes and the Chiefs were the better team from start to finish on both sides of the ball, no doubt. But the three-time Super Bowl champion was also the beneficiary of an awful missed call by the NFL refs, who have been under enough scrutiny as is to begin the season.

The NFL is cracking down on players who use bow-and-arrow and other weapon-related gestures as celebrations. If a player commits such an act, they’ll be hit with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty.

Well, Patrick Mahomes did exactly that after a first-down run last night, and the officials missed what could have been a potential game-changing call:

 

It’s another frustrating instance of NFL refs failing to apply consistency to penalty calls like this one. Mahomes’ gesture here is not a “judgment” call. It’s a blatant violation of the league’s taunting/celebration rules.

The Chiefs are on a bye in Week 6. They’ll return to the field on Oct. 20 for a road contest against the San Francisco 49ers in a rematch of Super Bowl 58.

Patrick Mahomes & Chiefs Keep Finding Ways To Win

Kansas City will be without Rashee Rice for the rest of the season, and Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown isn’t expected to return until the playoffs (if he’s even cleared by then). Top running back Isiah Pacheco is also sidelined with a fractured fibula, and Kansas City’s offense hasn’t had any consistency this year.

But the Chiefs just keep finding ways to win games. The defense keeps doing its job, and the Mahomes-Travis Kelce connection has started to find its rhythm following Rice’s injury.