As the Buffalo Bills prepare to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in a familiar rivalry on Sunday afternoon, there's one giant elephant in the room which fans cannot stop talking about.
The Chiefs may be the AFC's no. 1 seed, but they sure haven't looked like it through much of the season. Kansas City has won several close games in which some have come down to questionable calls or even no-calls.
Bills fans understand what's likely to happen on Sunday, and the team is going to have to overcome a clear advantage for the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
Everyone knows the Chiefs get a whole lot of favorable calls, even Chiefs fans. But, former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski was even quick to call this notion out in a recent interview with Kay Adams.
When speaking about the Bills' chances against Kansas City on Sunday, Gronkowski highlighted one way they can win.
"Oh, I know how the Bills can win. When you sack Patrick Mahomes, just touch him. Don't do anything more, you know. Don't throw him too hard on the ground. You might get a penalty," Gronkowski said as he was laughing.
After last week's embarrassment to the league which saw Mahomes flop while trying to garner a penalty on Houston and another roughing the passer penalty called which shouldn't have been, this idea has never been more clear.
Here's his full answer, talking with Adams.
.@robgronkowski has some advice for the Bills on how they can beat the Chiefs 😅🔊
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) January 22, 2025
"When they sack Patrick Mahomes just touch him... don't do anything more." @heykayadams @Chiefs @BuffaloBills | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/fbIae67qHW
More Bills news:
Rob Gronkowski knows exactly what Bills fans know about Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs
Its a narrative that has built over plenty of time, with plenty of examples. None of those examples need explaining. If you're a fan of the Bills, or even a team like the Cincinnati Bengals or Baltimore Ravens, you know exactly how this goes.
Heck, if you're a big NFL fan in general, you understand. The Chiefs, somehow, get many of the big calls at just the right time.
Some interesting penalty differentials that stood out during the Chiefs last 4 postseasons:
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 21, 2025
7 roughing the passer on opponents... 1 on KC
4 unnecessary roughness on opponents... 1 on KC
11 DPI or defensive holding on opponents... 2 on KC
The above numbers are alarming, but they reassure what every Bills fans is thinking going into this game on Sunday. Mahomes and the Chiefs get all of the calls in the postseason.
And by that, of course, I mean the Chiefs get the majority of the calls. Out of 26 combined roughing the passer, unnecessary roughness and defensive pass interference calls in Kansas City's last four postseasons, the Chiefs have been called for a total of four.
That's abysmal by the NFL. It is completely one-sided, and there's no other way to defend it.
Gronk knows what we all know. It's not difficult to see it. The league isn't even hiding it. The entire world is going to be watching for just how the officials call this game on Sunday afternoon, especially with this kind of data floating around over the last few days.