Tom Brady is the latest person to enter the discussion regarding the officiating calls surrounding Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Brady, 47, talked about how it should be the quarterback’s responsibility to protect himself.
“When quarterbacks become running backs, and they’re out of the pocket, they should lose their protection,” Brady said during a recent appearance on FOX Sports’ “The Herd.”
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Announcer Tom Brady looks on before an NFC wild card game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers at Lincoln Financial Field. (Bill Streicher-Imagn Images)
“We’re trying to protect the quarterbacks, but coaches are calling more quarterback runs than ever in the history of the game. So, who is protecting the quarterback? We’re trying to say the referees should do it?”
Mahomes was the beneficiary of two calls in the Chiefs’ 23-14 win over the Houston Texans.
Texans’ star defensive end Will Anderson Jr. was flagged for a roughing the passer penalty for hitting Mahomes up toward the head area while throwing a pass, but what Brady seems to be alluding to is the penalty Mahomes received in the third quarter.
Mahomes was scrambling in the third quarter, and as he slid, was hit by two Texans defenders near the head area as he was going down.
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, #15, is tackled by Azeez Al-Shaair, #0 of the Houston Texans, during the first quarter of the AFC Divisional Playoff at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Jan. 18, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Texans linebacker Henry To’oTo’o was flagged for unnecessary roughness on the play.
There was another play in the fourth quarter when Mahomes seemed to embellish contact along the sidelines in hopes of generating another flag, but the referees did not call a penalty.
“The reality for me is offensive players need to protect themselves. If they’re running full speed and the defender’s coming up — the only way to turn the ball over is to create force. You’re not going to blow on the football and knock its way out of a running back’s hands or a quarterback’s hands,” Brady said.
“You’ve gotta go there with force and knock it out. You’re trying to create turnovers. You’re trying to disrupt the passer. You’re trying to dislodge the ball. The only way to do that is with force. There needs to be an aggressiveness to doing that.”
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes speaks at a news conference after an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/David Richard)
Brady said that defenders playing scared of being penalized is a disservice to the game.
“If you don’t wanna get hit, you can go down, you can run out of bounds,” Brady said. “But you can’t, in essence, have the defensive player come in at half speed, and then you run over the defensive player because he’s afraid of getting a penalty. It’s a disservice to the game. It’s something that I’d hope people really address. Not that anyone’s trying to take advantage of the rules, but they’ve gone to a point where it does impact the quality of the game.”
When Mahomes’ Chiefs play the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game on Sunday at 6:30 p.m., there will certainly be extra attention paid to Mahomes and the referees.
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