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The Kansas City Chiefs have benefitted from a staggering amount of favorable calls in the playoffs throughout their recent run as the league's most dominant franchise, according to data guru Warren Sharp.
The Chiefs have never been penalized more than their opponents, having been flagged less than 10 times in their last 11 playoff games, while 10 of their opponents have been flagged at least 10 times, since 2021. Additionally, Kansas City was called for an average of 5.4 penalties per game during the 2024 NFL regular season, which was the fewest of all 32 teams.
The Chiefs had, however, accumulated more penalty yards than their opponents in 38 of 65 regular season games (55.9%). The New York Jets, who finished with a 5-12 record, were the most penalized team in the NFL during the 2024 at 8.1 flags per game, the highest per-game average of any team since the 2019 season.
The Chiefs were the beneficiary of a late calls in their AFC Divisional Round win last week as the Houston Texans were called for roughing the passer and unnecessary roughness for hits on quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who was also criticized for a sideline fall that didn't result in a penalty. Kansas City still won by multiple possessions to clinch their seventh consecutive AFC Championship Game appearance and will host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday (January 26), entering as back-to-back defending Super Bowl champions and having won three of the last five.