Accusations that the NFL favors Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have become a running debate in the NFL, and Week 6 was no different. The Detroit Lions tried a gutsy trick play on fourth and goal from the half-yard line. The Lions’ fans thought they had pulled off something wild. But soon, confusion hit. Flags flew.

Here’s how it went down. Jared Goff bobbled the 4th-and-goal pass. He caught it and then ran into the end zone for a touchdown. However, the officials penalized Goff for an illegal motion after a short pause. Reason? Refs describe that Goff didn’t stop for at least a second to set himself before motioning out wide. So was this just bad luck, or something more? Interestingly, a research paper might have some answers.

Recently, University of Texas’ finance professors Spencer C. Barnes, Brandon Mendez, and Ted Dischman shared a concerning report on Patrick Mahomes and Co. They analyzed every defensive flag thrown in NFL games from 2015 to 2023. As per the professors, they wanted to know if all the talk about officiating bias was just fan frustration or if there’s really something. As per them, whenever Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were playing, referees appeared more likely to throw their flags in their favor.

According to Barnes, “Increased flag throwing does seem to be concentrated just within the Chiefs, and especially within the postseason.” He told Texas Monthly that while the difference isn’t massive, “typically one more penalty for the Chiefs,” he says it’s still meaningful.

In his words, “You might think that’s not really that big of a deal, but one more penalty could extend the drive and lead to three more points, which would win them the game.”

However, Barnes also clarified that his team’s findings don’t prove intent. “This is correlation; this is not causation,” he says. “We’re not making any claims that this is a directive from the NFL. I think what we’re picking up on here is maybe some implicit bias, but there could be lots of other things going on.”

In short, the study raises eyebrows but doesn’t point fingers. However, there is another twist.

In their reports, they didn’t find the same issue with other teams. His group also examined the Tom Brady-era Patriots, Rams, 49ers, and Eagles, but no similar patterns emerged. So, while Patrick Mahomes keeps adding wins to his legacy, the debate off the field is just heating up. And recently, the refs have also opened up on this issue.

NFL referee denies accusation of helping Patrick Mahomes and co.

Let’s go back to Week 6 again, when the Lions fell to the Chiefs 30-17. After the game, Detroit’s head coach Dan Campbell didn’t hold back. He hinted that referee Craig Wrolstad may have received help from the league office before throwing a key penalty flag.

“I know it came from New York, and they said he never stopped. He stayed in motion. He can’t stay in motion. That was that,” said the head coach.

A few days later, the NFL’s executive VP of football operations, Troy Vincent, sat down with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. When asked directly on the play, Vincent didn’t hesitate.

“I’m not sure who Coach Campbell was referring to, but we did not assist in that,” he said. He added that the delay between the play and the penalty came from “on-field officials communicating with one another.” It wasn’t a call with replay officials in Kansas City or the league office in New York.

He even clarified further, saying, “You can hear the officials gathering in this particular case… but we didn’t have to get involved in this particular play.”

Later, in a post-game pool report, referee Craig Wrolstad backed that up, denying any outside help.

The study shows the Chiefs may get more penalties in their favor, but it doesn’t prove anyone is cheating. It points to possible bias, not clear proof of league involvement.