NFL Legend Champ Bailey Weighs in on Controversial Patrick Mahomes Penalties
NFL legend Champ Bailey was glued to the television as he watched the Houston Texans’ playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, specifically the controversial penalties called on Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes was accused of flopping out of bounds on the sidelines, leading to two penalties and nearly a third.
Bailey, a former Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins star cornerback, was upset with the penalty flags, particularly the one in which Mahomes tried to slide at the last minute before being met by two Texans defenders. “It’s like everything else. They review everything,” he said. “So, when they’re able to go back and look at these type of plays, like the play I think you’re referring to on Saturday when he drops to the ground and then the guys go over him, don’t even hit him, but they appear to. You should be able to review that [on] some level and say, well, that wasn’t as egregious as we thought in real time.”
Bailey continued, “Defenders are hesitant to hit him, but here he is. He’s dancing around, toying around with the guys and making it seem like he’s the runner and then drops down, and now he’s protected like a quarterback. Once you’re outside of the pocket, man, it’s fair game. I don’t know why he’s protected when he’s outside of the pocket the way he was, because if he was the running back and did the same thing, do you think they throw the flag? No, they don’t.”
Bailey said he’s started to empathize with fans who think NFL games are supposedly “rigged” or favor Mahomes in some way. All he’s asking for is consistency. “So, let’s be consistent in that way, and when you get it wrong, try to get it right,” Bailey said. “I think the more they can get calls right in real time, the integrity increases in the game and people start to believe that the games aren’t fixed. I don’t feel like the games are fixed because I was in it, but when I’m sitting here every year – I’m out of the league – the more and more I start believing what the fans are saying about the games being ‘fixed,’ because you see things like this happen over and over, so they just got to figure out a way to get the calls right and live with it.”
Mahomes has denied any favoritism, saying, “I just try to play football at the end of the day. The referees are doing their best to call the game as fair and proper as best they can. For me, it’s go out there, play hard, try to do whatever I can to win the football game and then live with the results based on my effort and how I play the game, and that’s what we preach here in Kansas City.”
