There is a widespread perception that the NFL officials are favoring the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes. The latest statistic to go viral certainly won’t change that notion.
ESPN shared a statistic this week showing how the Chiefs have won the penalty battle in their playoff games over the last several years. In fact, the Chiefs have played 11 playoff games over the last four years. The Chiefs have not been called for more penalties than their opponent in any of those 11 games. Their opponent was called for more penalties than them in 10 of those 11 games.
Most teams were pretty equal with their opponents over who was called for more penalties during their playoff games. The only outliers were the Chiefs, who were beneficiaries, and the Bengals, who frequently lost the penalty battle.