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The Houston Texans' playoff run ended with a 23-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday. The game took an interesting turn, when Texans' star defensive end Will Anderson was called for a roughing the passer on a 3rd-and-8 incompletion from Patrick Mahomes.
In the aftermath of the penalty, and the additional calls, there was further explanation by one of the referees, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2.
“I had forcible contact to the facemask area so I went with roughing the passer on that play,” referee Clay Martin told Wilson.
That then set up a Chiefs drive with a 1st-and-10 reboot. Harrison Butker would later drill a 36-yard field goal to put Kansas City up 6-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Unfortunate for the Texans, but they also caused their own share of problems by punting the football away on their next drive, and missing a 55-yard field goal to tie the game.
Texans comeback foiled by penalties
The biggest play of the game was arguably when Mahomes took off for a nine-yard run on a crucial Chiefs drive in the third quarter, with the Chiefs up by one point. Mahomes scrambled, followed his lead blocker and didn't slide until the last second, before Houston defenders connected with the All-Pro quarterback as he was going down. Wilson asked Martin for clarification on the unnecessary roughness penalty that was called at the end of the run.
“Later in the game, there was a situation where it appeared, when you slow it down, two Texans players collide and it didn't look like they made any sort of contact with Patrick Mahomes. What was your perspective on it? I know it was a bang-bang play and it is going fast but what did you see on that play (3rd quarter, 1:52, 1st-and-10, Kansas City 35)?”
Martin answered.
“Yes, absolutely. So, he slid, obviously, and when he slides, he is considered defenseless. The onus is on the defender. I had forcible contact there to the hairline, to the helmet.”
That ultimately put the kibosh on a Texans comeback. The Chiefs gave themselves a bigger cushion after the penalty, taking a 20-12 lead and allowed the defense to hold off the Texans for the rest of the fourth quarter.
