Just In: NFL Legend Terrell Owens Doesn’t Mince Words on Accusations of ‘Rigged’ Kansas City Chiefs Calls…. See More

With 15 NFL seasons under his belt, Terrell Owens saw plenty of eyebrow-raising moments on the field. But when it comes to the refereeing of recent Kansas CIty Chiefs games, the former Pro Bowler admitted it’s something even he hasn’t seen before.

Owens shared his thoughts on referees’ work during Chiefs games in a recent interview on the It Is What It Is podcast.

It’s crazy, because I played the game and I’m watching the game and I’m looking at all these calls that they’re just, that’s benefiting the Kansas City Chiefs,” Owens said. He went on to reference a call made during the Chiefs’ Jan. 18 game against the Houston Texans.

“[Patrick] Mahomes is smart, he’s dinking around, he’s causing the flag, you know what I mean? He’s getting the benefit. He didn’t even get hit. Fifteen-yard flag, the guy, Will Anderson, barely hit him. That can stop the momentum of the game. At that point in time, the Houston Texans were in the game. Those calls right there advances them, gives them extra downs. It changed the whole complexity of the game,” he explained

You can even go back to the last couple of Super Bowls, even when the Niners played the Super Bowl,” Owens continued. “Look at all the holding calls. If you watched the tape, it was crazy. They were getting clothes-lined and they were not calling it. It was blatant, blatant calls that were obvious.”

It’s unreal,” he concluded. “I never would’ve thought I would say that I thought games were rigged, but it is unreal at the amount of all calls that are not called against the Kansas City Chiefs that are called against everybody else.”

Critics online have added to the chorus claiming NFL referees have been letting the Chiefs get away with a lot on the road to their possible historic Super Bowl three-peat. That prompted NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to shoot down the claims, and the NFL

Commissioner Goodell’s comments that it is ‘ridiculous’ to presume that NFL Officials are not doing everything possible to make the right call on every play is spot-on,” NFLRA executive director Scott Green said in a statement. “Officiating crews do not work the same team more than twice each regular season. It is insulting and preposterous to hear conspiracy theories that somehow 17 officiating crews consisting of 138 officials are colluding to assist one team.”

There are many things that fans can worry about over a 17-game season, such as coaching decisions, player injuries, the weather and, yes, even close calls on incredible plays made by incredible athletes,” Green continued. “But you can rest assured that on every single down, NFL Officials, both on the field and in the replay booth, are doing everything humanly possible to officiate every play correctly.”