With the recent conspiracy theories floating around that the NFL referees favor the Kansas City Chiefs in big games, Commissioner Roger Goodell has now addressed the "rigged/scripted" accusations.
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When asked about the public perception of the league giving out preferential calls to the Chiefs, Goodell fervently denied the accusations.
Goodell says any theory of the Chiefs benefiting from preferential calls from officials is “ridiculous” and the league officiating is “outstanding.” pic.twitter.com/y5jVXQsKHu
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) February 3, 2025
"That's a ridiculous theory," Goodell stated. "For anyone who might take it seriously. But at the end of the day, it's something we always have to continue to work on. How do we make our officiating better at all times?"
"And I think the men and women officiating in the NFL are outstanding. They have the highest possible standards," Goodell continued. "And if you look at the Chiefs record, which I think is an amazing thing, people talk about the competitiveness of our league. The Chiefs with their 15 wins, 15-2 this year, 11 of those 15 games were within one score. And I think that talks about the competitiveness of our game and the importance of how we officiate it, but also the competitiveness of how we play it."
All in all, the Commissioner made fun of "the script" talk, while downplaying everything to just be a case of social media rumors... Yet not everyone agrees.
That is, NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens aired out his opinions during a recent interview, as he believes it may actually be scripted for Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
Terrell Owens calls out the NFL for being rigged for the Chiefs. #nflisrigged #riggednfl pic.twitter.com/a5GfzLQgzW
— Truth Seeker (@_TruthZone_) February 2, 2025
"It's blatant and obvious. And I never thought I would say games are rigged," Owens said. "It's unreal the amount of calls the Chiefs get."
In view of this, with a win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game, the Chiefs have punched their ticket to their fifth Super Bowl appearance in six seasons.
Which has been met with much controversy, considering some of the referee calls made during the game, that included a very questionable spotting of the ball on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter vs. the Bills.
I’m quitting watching football. There is no other way to teach @nflcommish a lesson. This is blatant cheating. #nflrigged pic.twitter.com/fGzya6LOQX
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) January 27, 2025
The Chiefs will face-off with Owens' former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, in Super Bowl LIX (February 9) which will be a rematch from two seasons ago, Super Bowl LVII. Notably, if the Chiefs win, they will be the first team in NFL history to "three-peat."
Never forget Terrell Owens playing in Super Bowl XXXIX seven weeks after breaking his leg...
...and catching nine passes for 122 yards 🤯pic.twitter.com/ew5CdY73FK
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) February 1, 2025