Fans celebrate NFL’s major rule change to prevent Patrick Mahomes’ advantage ahead of Buffalo Bills showdown but he’ll win

Accusations of too many calls in Patrick Mahomes’ favour might just disappear.

The NFL is looking to expand their replay assist and it includes a major part of Mahomes’ game.  Quarterback slides are expected to be added to replay assists, according to ESPN sources.  Replay assists were first introduced in 2021 to provide referees and members of the officiating department a second opinion with on-field calls.

It is often used when there is a clear and obvious video evidence like a spot of the ball, foul, complete or incomplete passes and the touching of the ball on the line.  Although since 2024, the league has expanded replay assist to enable additional areas where referees can use the tool to make decisions.

With fouls for hits heading out of bounds, fouls for blows to the head of a quarterback and elements of intentional grounding are all included within replay assist.  Now, the tool is expected to be expanded further this off season after controversy surrounding the third quarter of the AFC divisional playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans.

During the match, Mahomes scrambled out of pocket, slid beneath two lunging Texans defenders and drew a 15-yard-penalty on Houston for unnecessary roughness.  The call drew criticism from analysts and fans with ESPN Troy Aikman saying it needs to be addressed ahead in the off season.  “Oh come on,” Aikman said during the game when the penalty was called.  “I mean, he’s a runner and I could not disagree with that one more. He barely gets hit.”

‘You can’t, as a quarterback, run around and play games with the defenders and then get called for a penalty,’ Aikman added.  Will Anderson, Texans star pass rusher, was outraged after the mach and said: “We knew it was going to be us versus the refs going into this game.”

Fans have reacted to the proposed rule change with almost everyone but Chiefs’ happy about the expanded coverage.  “There’s no reason in the lords year 2025 that everything shouldn’t be reviewable,” one fan posted on X.  “The Texans saved the NFL,” another wrote.

Expand it for a lot more. What caused so much ruckus is when fans on TV can see something the refs didn’t. If you’ve got someone seeing what the fans see and making correct calls, you’ll end with fewer disconnections.  Although not everyone agrees with the expected expansion.  “Always changing the rules because of the Chiefs,” one fan posted.

“Arbitrarily deciding what replay assist can be applied to still doesn’t sit well with me. If you’re going to incorporate the technology, it should be applied to all plays,” another fan wrote.  Mahomes dismissed criticism of the referees and notion they favour the Chiefs. “I don’t feel that way,” the QB said about favourable treatment from the referees.  “At the end of the day, the referees are doing their best to call the game as fair and as proper as they possibly can.”

“All you can do is go out there and play the game that you love as hard as you can and live with the results.”  “I feel like I’ve just continued to play the game, and I just try to win, and whatever happens kind of happens.”  The Chiefs will wait to see whether the NFL implement the rule but currently they are preparing for tonight’s AFC Championship Game against the Buffalo Bills