Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were on the wrong end of a baffling officiating decision

As easy as it is to complain about officiating, the first six weeks of the NFL season hasn’t exactly been the greatest start for the league’s officials.

The lead-up to last season’s Super Bowl was marred by a blatant missed pass interference no-call. The league responded by making pass interference a reviewable play, but it subsequently turned the new rule into an opportunity for coaches to fire an allotted challenge and timeout into the sun.

When Al Riveron and company aren’t making a mockery out of pass interference reviews, they’re finding other ways to affect a game. Just ask the Kansas City Chiefs because something weird seemingly went down in Sunday’s game against the Texans.

Patrick Mahomes threw his first interception of the season after taking a shot to the end zone on an apparent free play. The Chiefs quarterback saw Travis Kelce get brought down in the middle of a route, knew there was a flag and went for the score … because, why not? The Chiefs would be getting a first down if the pass didn’t result in a score.

At first, it worked out that way. The officials called Houston for a pass interference penalty. But one of the officials halted the call as he listened to someone speaking through his earpiece.

They ultimately picked up the flag, ruling that pass interference could not have been called because Kelce wasn’t the intended receiver.

That shouldn’t have changed the fact that Mahomes attempted the pass because he saw the penalty. At the very least, there should have been a flag for defensive holding or illegal contact. It was clear-cut penalty, and it was taken away after an unknown voice dictated the officiating crew’s decision. In doing so, they settled on an incorrect outcome.

The call made a huge difference as the Chiefs would lose, 31-24, to the Texans.