Troy Aikman upset over tough call on Patrick Mahomes: ‘He barely gets hit’

It has become a pastime for NFL fans to complain that the Kansas City Chiefs get all the calls. And NFL officials keep giving them reasons to complain.

On Saturday, it wasn’t just disgruntled non-Chiefs fans who were vocal. ESPN’s Troy Aikman was not at all pleased with an unnecessary roughness call on Patrick Mahomes that cost the Houston Texans 15 yards.

Mahomes ran around and slid at the last possible second. Two Texans defenders collided, Mahomes was barely hit, but the penalty was against Houston.

It wasn’t the only time the Chiefs had the advantage of a call. There was one roughing the passer penalty on Will Anderson Jr. in the first half, when Anderson barely hit Mahomes. A hip-drop tackle on the Chiefs was not penalized, although officials have rarely called it all season. The call, when Mahomes dropped and was barely hit, was enough to irk Aikman.

“Oh, come on,” Aikman said on the broadcast as the call was made.

“He’s a runner. I couldn’t disagree with that one more, and he barely gets hit,” Aikman said. “This is the second penalty now that has been handed down against the Texans.”

It’s worth noting that Aikman is a former quarterback. They usually stick together, but the call on Houston was so bad that Aikman had to stand up for the defenders.

ESPN rules analyst Russell Yurk also said it was a bad call.

“Troy, I agree with you. There is no forced contact to the head and neck area on him,” Yurk said. “The two Houston players hit each other and it shouldn’t have been a foul.”

The Chiefs kept moving the ball down the field after that call, and Mahomes hit Travis Kelce for a touchdown and a 20-12 lead.

The chiefs are a great dynasty. Saturday night, most of the discussion was about how many calls they get from the officials. It’s probably not the look the league wants.