Kansas City Chiefs have a real problem with the refs

This past week Kansas City Chiefs corner Marcus Peters threw a flag into the stands. That is just one small part of a much larger problem this team has with NFL refs.

The Kansas City Chiefs have been getting killed by penalties this year. Currently, the Chiefs have accrued the third most penalties in the entire league. The frustration over the issue has been evident, and it boiled over last week when Marcus Peters chucked a penalty flag into the stands.

Understand, most of these penalties are well-deserved. That includes the call against Steven Nelson last week that sent Marcus Peters over the edge. However, there is a clear schism between the calls going against the Chiefs and those going in their favor. While they have the third most penalties against them, KC is towards the bottom in flags going their way.

In total, the Chiefs have a net of -19 penalties on the season. That is drastically higher than what we see for most of the league. A lot of that has to do with discipline and some bad mistakes. There is no denying that. However, a lot of it is also a result of Kansas City’s confrontational attitude when it comes to the NFL refs.

SOURCE: Marcus Peters did not agree with this penalty call pic.twitter.com/AWgbhSWpYF
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) December 3, 2017

You Can’t Keep Doing That

Alex Smith really put it out there after the Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Jets last week. Travis Kelce wasn’t getting any calls, including on the crucial final pass of the game. The normally calm and reserved Smith called out the officials. However, I’m not sure he should have been surprised Kelce didn’t get a call.

You can’t overlook the fact that Marcus Peters had just disrespected an NFL ref by throwing his flag into the stands. On its own, that’s bad enough. However, we can’t overlook the fact that the Chiefs now have a pretty well-established history of doing things like that.

Marcus Peters on Chiefs bench, after throwing ref’s flag

Travis Kelce: “Why would you do that?”

Marcus Peters: “I LEARNED IT BY WATCHING YOU!” pic.twitter.com/z5wQxSGe6s
— Christian Flores (@CFloresNews) December 3, 2017

Last year Travis Kelce made headlines and plenty of gifs when he threw his own flag on an official (after a blatant penalty wasn’t called). Many of us laughed, thought it was awesome, and said the referee had it coming. However, that ref hasn’t gone anywhere. He’s still out there officiating. Do you think he forgot about that?

How about Travis Kelce’s suggestive gesture to an official? Think that has been forgotten? The truth is that the Chiefs have gone out of their way to get on the wrong side of NFL refs. That’s not a way to go about getting some calls to go in your favor.

NFL Refs Don’t Have To Break The Rules

Here’s what you need to understand about the situation the Kansas City Chiefs are in: NFL refs can screw you over without breaking any rules. Many calls on the football field are subjective. You can make the call one way or another and still be “right”. You can also not make a call without being “wrong”.