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With great power comes great responsibility. And with great success comes a great amount of critics. That's what is currently happening with the Kansas City Chiefs, who have made it to a fifth Super Bowl in the past six seasons. That unprecedented feat has fans looking for ways to poke holes in their accomplishments, and they have certainly found plenty.
The easiest form of criticism with any successful team is to claim they are cheating. It happened with the New England Patriots during the Tom Brady years. It happened with the Los Angeles Lakers when they won it all with Kobe Bryant and then LeBron James. Now it's happening with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. But it wouldn't be this way if there were so many close calls that seem to be going their way. And Mahomes isn't making it easy by chatting up with the referees while on the sidelines.
Chiefs and refs controversy isn't dying down anytime soon
That's what the elite quarterback was caught doing during the AFC Championship game against the Buffalo Bills. A side judge hovered over to Mahomes while he was standing on the sidelines and made fun of the QB for "the worst spike I've ever seen" following his touchdown.
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The two laugh together and then the ref hits him in the chest playfully. You can also see a second official come next to Mahomes to see what they're talking about. In reality, it's just a friendly conversation, but it produces bad optics for the NFL given where the conversation currently is about the Chiefs' favoritism from the league.
While bitter fans have used the video as a way to prove their point, Chiefs fans have made sure to respond with videos of other quarterbacks who have had casual conversations on the sidelines with refs, including Josh Allen.