Top 10 questionable officiating calls from Chiefs-Lions SNF as controversy erupts over awful refereeing

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Detroit Lions on Sunday night to return to .500 and avert a calamitous 2-4 start. Patrick Mahomes once again shone, completing 73.3% of his passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to Marquise Brown in the second half. He also rushed ten times, scoring once.

However, as with any game involving the nine-time defending AFC West champions in the Mahomes era, it was not without controversy. Independent media outlet MLFootball claimed it to be "one of the worst officiated games of the (2025) season" in an X.com thread, citing at least ten instances of bad calls, all of which worked in the Chiefs' favor. So what are those calls?

---

10 egregious calls from Chiefs-Lions game: An overview

1) Travis Kelce's catch

During a passing play, tight end Travis Kelce appeared to fail to secure this pass from Patrick Mahomes - a scene that would have been ripped straight out of the Cowboys-Packers 2014 Divisional Round game. However, the referees decided to call it a successful catch anyway.

2) Overturned Jared Goff touchdown

Jared Goff nearly did what he did against the Seattle Seahawks last season on the opening drive, catching a touchdown from David Montgomery. But then he was ruled to have illegally moved before the snap.

3) Non-reviewable play

And speaking of that play, the likes of it are supposed to be non-reviewable, yet the referees were able to use replay to do so and overturn it.

4) Goff argues with official, causes holdup

Goff proceeded to argue with the officials over the non-reviewability of the play and got the Lions a delay-of-game penalty. It set the team back five yards and forced them to score a field goal rather than go for it again, as Dan Campbell is usually wont to do.

5) Missed offsides ft. Chris Jones

Chris Jones has not had the best of seasons in 2025, and it was shown when he did not prevent Trevor Lawrence from scoring the decisive rushing touchdown at the Jaguars last week. Here he is again, generating controversy by illegally positioning himself before the snap.

The Lions should have scored a touchdown here, but they instead committed a turnover on downs.

6) Missed false start

The Philadelphia Eagles are not the only ones courting controversy over their offensive players moving before the snap. Backup tight end Noah Gray clearly false-started here, but the referees missed it:

7) Holding, part 1 ft. Travis Kelce

On a passing play early in the fourth quarter, Kelce clearly held a defender by the shirt and arm. But the referees let the play continue:

8) Holding, part 2 ft. Jawaan Taylor

The offensive line also had its part in holding the defense (literally) from stopping plays, and they went unpunished for it. Here is Jawaan Taylor doing one such instance:

9) Holding, part 3

And yet another one, this time on the play that set up the first of Mahomes' four total touchdowns:

10) Missed taunting penalty on Patrick Mahomes

After rushing for a touchdown in the second, Mahomes flexed in front of Brian Branch. This would become important later, as the safety instigated a post-game fight by refusing to shake the quarterback's hand, then slapping wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster.

That act got him shaded by Mahomes during the post-game interview:

"I mean, we play the game in between the whistles. They can do all the extracurricular stuff they want to do, but we play the game in between the whistles."

The Chiefs next host the Las Vegas Raiders a week from now. Kickoff is at 12 pm CT on CBS.