Bill Belichick responds to notion Chiefs receive favorable calls from referees

Bill Belichick dismissed any notion that the Kansas City Chiefs were big benefactors of officiating and getting calls in their favor.

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce already questioned media members Monday night of running with that narrative, that the team only wins because of aid from referees. However, Belichick didn’t think that was the case.

Heck, he heard the same noise when he won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots.

“We dealt with a similar thing, and we were one of the least penalized teams in the league,” Belichick said on The Pat McAfee Show. “Especially offensively, but as a total team, we were one of the least penalized teams in the league for, you know, a long, long time. I mean, almost two decades, and the Chiefs are doing the same thing. 

“But really the key to it is playing good football. I mean, let’s start with eliminating pre-snap penalties, which there is really no excuse for, and eliminating post-whistle penalties, which occasionally there’s a close call there. But you know, roughing the pass, or hitting guys out of bounds, roughing the punter, personal fouls, you know, arguing with referees, all those things. Those are all preventable.” 

Belichick chalked it up to the Chiefs being a great football team and there’s a reason they’re going for their third Super Bowl win in a row.

“So good football teams don’t commit those penalties. They let their opponents do that,” Belichick said. “And then there are the plays that happen in the action of the game. And football is football, and some of them get called, some of them don’t, you know, I think the officials have a tough job to do the best they can, but that’s overall a pretty good group. 

“But if you want to be a low penalized team, then don’t commit pre-snap and don’t commit post-whistle penalties. That’s a good place to start.”

The subject of officiating and how much the Chiefs’ success is tied to favorable calls has long been a topic of discussion during their recent dominance. Kansas City certainly doesn’t see it that way, but here are the numbers: The Chiefs have been penalized nine times for 50 yards in their two playoff games, while their opponents have been penalized 14 times for 130 yards