Patriots LB Matthew Judon takes shot at Patrick Mahomes, NFL refs

New England Patriots linebacker Matthew Judon didn’t hesitate to express his frustration with the referees in the Patriots’ 27-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. After the game, Judon quoted a tweet of an AI-generated photo of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and a referee kissing, writing “I see no lies.”

In the loss, the Patriots had five penalties called on them for a total loss of 45 yards. In comparison, the Chiefs only received two penalties and lost just 15 total yards. Judon failed to record a statistic in the loss.

I see no lies https://t.co/ZiKCfSsNIS

— Matthew Judon (@man_dammn) December 17, 2023

Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes completed 27-of-37 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions against the Patriots’ defense. New England has lost six of its last seven outings.

Despite the Patriots’ misfortune, Judon’s words aren’t backed by the statistics. The Chiefs have received 85 total penalties this season while the Patriots have only been called for 80. In fact, Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid were reportedly fined by the NFL for their comments about officiating following the Chiefs’ loss to the Bills, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.

Patrick Mahomes fined by NFL for critiquing referees

The issue stemmed from their comments on an offsides penalty assessed to wide receiver Kadarius Toney. Toney lined up incorrectly which led to a nullified trick-play touchdown from the wide receiver after Travis Kelce initiated a backwards pass.

“Per source the NFL fined both Chiefs Coach Andy Reid and Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes for comments critical of officiating after last week’s loss to Buffalo,” Florio wrote on Twitter.“Don’t have amounts yet.”

Florio made a prediction on the financial figures of the reported fines.

“Guess would be $25K for Mahomes and $50K or more for Reid,” Florio wrote. “Just a guess.”

Mahomes got heated on the sideline, which was caught by CBS cameras.

Mahomes finished the game 25-of-43 passing for 271 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Kelce was the leading receiver with six catches for 83 yards while Rashee Rice added seven catches for 72 yards.

Reid called the offsides penalty “a bit embarrassing” for the NFL, a message echoed by quarterback Mahomes as well. After having nearly 24 hours to dissect the play further, Reid walked back his criticism, admitting that Toney failed to check with the referee to see if he was onsides before the play.“

Normally, he looks over to the sideline and just gets an OK,” Reid said, via NFL.com. “On that one, he just happened not to. That’s the coaching point. Just make sure you check with the guy on the side just to see if you’re aligned. I mean, he’s not lining up offsides on purpose. Listen, he was two inches or an inch from being legal. Like I said, you can argue both sides of it.”

On3’s Nick Kosko also contributed to this article.