NFL Senior VP of Officiating Walt Anderson appeared on NFL Game day this morning with a detailed explanation of the controversial flags thrown Saturday for hits on Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes:

“On this play there was contact to the head. When he comes in face to face officials are going to call that. When number 39 comes in when his helmet strikes the helmet of the runner that’s already on the ground that’s a foul. Under the rules, officials got both calls right.”

The officiating team for Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans was slammed after several controversial calls on Saturday, but the NFL fully supports every decision made.

The Chiefs advanced to the AFC Championship game for the seventh consecutive season after beating the Texans 23-14, but two costly flags hindered the Texans. Both flags involved Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, leading to not just fans slamming the officials for protecting him, but also members of the Texans hinting at foul play.

The first flag was for roughing the passer after Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. caught Mahomes after he threw a pass intended for tight end Travis Kelce. “We knew it was going to be us versus the refs going into this game,” Anderson said after the loss.

NFL fans call out double-standards for Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes

Patrick Mahomes’ five-word vow to Josh Allen ahead of AFC Championship Game
But veteran referee Clay Martin explained his decision to punish Anderson Jr. after telling reporters: “I had forcible contact to the face mask area, and so I went with roughing the passer on that play.” Martin’s judgment was supported by Walt Anderson, NFL Senior Vice President of Officiating.

“When the defenders come in and they end up coming in face-to-face, if there’s contact to the head of the quarterback that’s probably going to be called by the officials,” Anderson said. “Now it has to be forcible, and one of the things we added this year is if there’s no contact at all to the helmet replay can assist, but on this play, there was contact.

“You can end up having the debate on whether it was forceful or not, and that’s going to be one of those conversations for the competition committee to consider next year. But when he comes in right there face-to-face, officials are going to call that.”

The second flag was for unnecessary roughness after a late slide from Mahomes following a run, but it went against Texans linebacker Henry To’oTo’o. Fans claimed that Mahomes had placed himself in a vulnerable situation, but To’oTo’o was penalized for making contact with the Chiefs quarterback.

This decision was even called out on ESPN’s broadcast by color commentator Troy Aikman, but Anderson sided with the officials again. “When No. 39 (To’oTo’o) comes in and the hairline of his helmet strikes the runner who is already on the ground – that’s a foul,” Anderson said.

“Even if replay assist could help in that, when there’s contact like that, that’s not going to be changed by replay assist.” The explanations won’t help the Texans after they were eliminated from the NFL Playoffs, and the locker room is still upset with the officials.

“We knew going into this game that it was us versus everybody, and I mean everybody,” head coach DeMeco Ryans said. Texans running back Joe Mixon also felt hard done by, adding: “Everybody knows how it is playing up here.

“You can never leave it into the refs’ hands. It is what it is. When it comes down to it, you can never leave it into the refs’ hands. We knew it was going to be us against the refs going into this game. I talked to you guys earlier this week. I was just saying, I’m like man, we gotta go out there and we gotta do us better.

“In some instances we didn’t do that, in some instances we did. We just gotta keep going man. Next offseason, getting guys together, everybody just coming together and just keep building that team chemistry and getting past this hump.”

**Want to watch more live sports? Peacock has your favorite sports, shows, and more all in one place. **Peacock offers plans starting at $7.99** so you can stream live sports like NFL, Premier League, and Big Ten Football.**