Kerby Joseph defined the recent fixture against the Kansas City Chiefs as truly a “mental” battle. Though the Detroit Lions lost the week 6 matchup 30-17 to the Chiefs, it was everything that screamed entertainment for the fans. An adrenaline-spiked fight filled with illegal formations, robbed penalties, and inescapable pressure. While the loss was a tough pill to swallow, Kerby Joseph chose not to. 

When asked about “How difficult is it against Mahomes?” in the locker room. K.J. did not hesitate and seemed unbothered. 

“Sh** ain’t hard at all bro,” Kerby Joseph said. 

However, the Chiefs exploited the defense successfully. Patrick Mahomes secured 257 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 10 carries. He completed 22 of 30 passes, of which seven travelled for more than 10 yards, and one stood out with 20-plus yards on launch, averaging a 73.3% completion rate. He took advantage of the defense by targeting LB coverage and gaining 165 yards on 13 of 17 attempts.

The statement does feel enraged, but the figures say otherwise. After Kerby Joseph suffered a knee injury in the second quarter, he was marked questionable to return. But the safety returned to the field before the end of the first half. The injury first took over Joseph in week 4 against the Cleveland Browns, and he played through it in week 5 against the Cincinnati Bengals. This season, he posted 18 tackles and 4 tackles against the Chiefs. The safety has 265 tackles through his career, but no sacks with the Lions since 2022. The Lions now stand at 4-2.  

“We handled business,” Mahomes told NBC’s Melissa Stark.

The Chiefs now stand 3-3 going into week 7. The whole game went all in without a single sack from either side. The Chiefs’ victory also ended the Lions’ scoring 30 points in the last 4 games consecutively. When it comes to Joseph, that was not the only comment he made after the game.

Kerby Joseph calls out officials on unflagged plays

Minutes after the game ended or we could say the ”fight” rumbled, the Detroit safety turned to X, posting and retweeting a string of messages aimed squarely at the officiating crew. 

One post, captioned “TAKE ME THRU THERE,” showed Patrick Mahomes in conversation with officials.

Kerby Joseph framed this moment as evidence of favoritism. Retweeted a post that noted the Chiefs hadn’t yet been called for a penalty and showed an edited photo of an official wearing the Chiefs logo.

The rant was particularly after Brian Branch smacked Juju Smith-Schuster in the face, leaving him bleeding through the nose. For an illegal block in the back that went uncalled.

“I made a good block. He obviously responded after the game. At the end of the day, it’s about the team win.” Smith-Schuster told USA TODAY Sports. 

An illegal motion penalty that ruled out a Lions score by Jared Goff on the first drive was the subject of one of the earliest posts. Detroit was forced to settle for a field goal because of that non-reviewable call. Additionally, Joseph played a video of Travis Kelce making a disputed catch that looked like it struck the ground but was actually a completion. Furthermore, when Kelce seemed to grasp a defender, no flag was thrown.

He retweeted multiple posts highlighting through the game the Chiefs’ penalty count was zero. On the contrary, Detroit was flagged four times for 38 yards. Retweeted a post that featured an altered image of an official sporting the Chiefs logo and mentioned that the Chiefs had not yet been given a penalty. Instead of the notorious Coldplay concert CEO scandal, he retweeted an altered image of Mahomes embracing an official.

Joseph’s posts also highlighted a roughing-the-passer call on Aidan Hutchinson. The penalty extended a Kansas City drive. He highlighted a number of uncalled holding fouls committed against Chiefs linemen. He was criticizing the officiating crew for being inconsistent, and the sequence was direct. Whether this turns into a self-inflicted wound for the Lions remains uncertain. But Joseph’s posts clearly showed a game where officials penalized one team and let the other walk away clean.