The Houston Texans' 2024 season has come to an end thanks to the Kansas City Chiefs. Some might say the Texans' season is over thanks to the Chiefs and the officials, who practically gifted the Chiefs 10 points in the eventual 23-14 final that sent Kansas City to its seventh straight AFC title game.
The first controversial call came in the first half when Will Anderson Jr. sacked Patrick Mahomes on third down. Unfortunately, a flag was thrown on Anderson for roughing the passer and instead of punting, the Chiefs were given a fresh set of downs. That play ended with a KC field goal.
The second controversial call was at the end of the third quarter when Mahomes was scrambling around trying to make something happen. Henry To'oTo'o hit Mahomes, who slid late, and a flag was thrown at To'oTo'o for unncessary roughness. Kansas City went on to score a touchdown later on during that drive.
Anderson was furious about the calls following the game but he wasn't entirely surprised. “We knew it was going to be us against the refs going into this game," Anderson said after the game.
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Anderson has a big reason to be upset with the officials. The first penalty was called on him when it appeared to be a clean play. The second one wasn't on him but it definitely was a weak call and had Troy Aikman absolutely fuming from the booth.
DeMeco Ryans made a similar comment about how he and the Texans knew the Chiefs would have the officials on their side. Ryans' was a little more subtle, as he simply noted that it'd be the Texans "versus everybody".
While the bad officiating was frustrating, the Texans had chances to win this game and they couldn't capitalize. They missed three different kicks, costing them seven points, and they failed to convert on a must-have fourth-down in the fourth quarter. It was a gut-wrenching loss but hopefully, this group learns from it and can come back stronger next year.