C.J. Stroud rips NFL referees' one-sided officiating favoring Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs in gut-wrenching playoffs exit

We tuned in to be entertained during Saturday's slate of the NFL playoffs and few were disappointed, though a lot of fans were left irritated by some of the calls during the first showdown between the Houston Texans and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The two sides locked horns at Arrowhead Stadium with more than a few celebrities like Brooke Shields, Taylor Swift and Caitlin Clark in attendance. And as they watched on, they witnessed some egregious calls that fell in the Chiefs' favor. When all was said and done, the Texans were slapped with eight penalties for 82 yards while the Chiefs were called for four penalties for 29 yards.

Two of the calls against Houston were particularly controversial, both roughing the passer calls that led to the Chiefs driving up the score - once through a field goal, and another time through a Travis Kelce touchdown. After the game, the Texans had a few harsh words for the officials with C.J. Stroud also making his feelings clear.

While Stroud didn't take as confrontational a tone as his teammates, he did make it abundantly clear that he wasn't happy with the officiating at Arrowhead.

“These things are tough. I’m not going to go back and forth on what I thought was a call and what I thought wasn’t a call. One of those things [where] you know what’s up before you walk into the arena. We got to be better just being accountable and sound," Stroud said at the post-game press conference.

"We got a couple of calls that weren’t called and I’m begging for it but at the same time it is what it is. I can’t argue with the refs and at the same time play football. I got to go and do my job. It’s definitely some things I would question but they’re the professionals getting paid to be refs."

Stroud did make sure to add he felt like the refs did their best.

---

NFL referees accused of bias by sports stars after Texans vs Chiefs

More than a few current and former athletes raised an issue with the officiating over at Arrowhead on Saturday evening. Three-time Super Bowl champion Mark Schlereth tweeted that the refs were clearly favoring the Chiefs while Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins' mother also accused them of bias.

Former Eagles star LeSean McCoy went as far as to say that the refs were treating Mahomes like "Baby Jesus."