Patrick Mahomes INTs called back by penalty: Viral turnover stat has fans wondering if Chiefs are favored by refs

Is Patrick Mahomes benefitting from the officials? That's what fans are debating in the aftermath of Week 2. 

Mahomes and the Chiefs were already a focal point of last Sunday's skate with another round against Joe Burrow and the Bengals. The matchup between the two AFC foes delivered, as Kansas City narrowly defeated Cincinnati 26-25, giving Mahomes his first win over Burrow in the regular season. 

Of course, it wouldn't be a Chiefs-Bengals game without some contentious takes coming out of it. During the third quarter, a Mahomes interception was picked off on third down, only to come back on a penalty for pass interference.

Not to mention, on the game-winning drive, Mahomes benefitted from a flag on fourth down with seconds remaining, allowing the team to gain enough yards for Harrison Butker's game-winning field goal. 

It has fans buzzing online about the narrative that the three-time Super Bowl champ and company benefit from calls from the officials. A stat was going around online in the hours after the Chiefs win. 

The Sporting News takes a look at Mahomes' history of interceptions wiped out from penalties. 

Patrick Mahomes INTs called back by penalty

Mahomes' turnovers were a big talking point in Week 2. Not only did he throw two interceptions that counted, but he could have had more if the plays hadn't been called back. 

Bills reporter Joseph DiBiase on X, formerly Twitter, threw out a stat that had the internet reacting. DiBiase said that Mahomes' third-quarter turnover that was taken away was his 17th interception in those circumstances, an amount that ranks first among the NFL. 

It had people vehemently claiming that the referees are favoring Mahomes. A user on X, Mac Brady Memes, put a thread of research together online, looking to see if the numbers back up the claim. 

The Chiefs quarterback has thrown 22 interceptions (including Week 2's against the Chiefs) that have been called back in his career. Coupled with eight fumbles with the same result, that is a total of 30 turnovers that a penalty on the defense has been called. 

Compared to the other quarterbacks since 2000, Mahomes has the highest percentage of throws that fall into that category. In his career, roughly 0.48 percent of his plays are picks that were called back by a flag. In second is Aaron Rodgers, but he's all the way down at 0.17 percent. 

When looking at the specific penalties, those were broken down as well from the 29 turnovers before the latest outing. 

Based on those numbers, it does appear that there is an argument to be made that the data supports the narrative. However, there are caveats to add to the statistical analysis.

As ESPN's Bill Barnwell pointed out in a thread, it's partly due to volume. Since 2018, Mahomes' 3,603 pass attempts rank first in the NFL.

The more times you put the ball in the air, the more likely you are going to throw an interception — plus the higher chance of a defensive penalty being called. 

The ESPN reporter also discussed that a flag was thrown for offside eight times, giving Mahomes a "free play" downfield. An attempt like that is more prone to land in the wrong hands, resulting in an interception for Mahomes. One time was from an unnecessary roughness call. 

This led Barnwell to another point that Bengals fans may be surprised by.

Cincinnati fans are one of the leading groups currently driving the narrative behind Mahomes, especially after Week 2. However, Joe Burrow has benefitted just as much from such calls. The Bengals quarterback has had a higher percentage of plays called back involving a referee's discretion.