Former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers star tight end Rob Gronkowski made a bold claim about the NFL officials regarding the idea that they’re helping the Kansas City Chiefs.
Rob Gronkowski played for the Patriots for nine seasons (2010 to 2018) and helped them to three Super Bowls. After spending one season in retirement, he reunited with Tom Brady and joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 — leading them to a Super Bowl 55 title before retiring for good in 2022.
So Gronkowski knows very well what it’s like to be the beneficiary of questionable officiating…as well as the wrong end. As with Brady’s Patriots, many fans and haters believe the officials have favored Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs during their dynastic run.
During his appearance on Kay Adams’ “Up & Adams” program, Rob Gronkowski claimed that the Chiefs get far more calls than the Patriots did during his tenure with the franchise. The four-time Super Bowl champion claimed that opposing teams got away with holding and pass interference while defending him, whereas he was often flagged for offensive PI:
“Yeah, the Chiefs get WAY more calls than the Patriots. I mean, I don’t even remember getting calls…specifically for myself. Maybe as a team, I don’t know, I don’t remember those calls…I’m just talking about myself.”
4x SB Champ @RobGronkowski says the #Chiefs get "WAY MORE" calls than the Patriots did during their dynasty 👀🔊
"I was basically executed off the line of scrimmage half the time." 😭@heykayadams pic.twitter.com/WRELGWSHEk
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) September 25, 2024
Adams then asked Rob Gronkowski, “The second somebody touched Brady, flags weren’t flying? Really?” The future Hall of Famer again stated that he doesn’t “remember” those calls, but only the times where he specifically didn’t draw penalties while being held and interfered with.
Many Will Agree With Rob Gronkowski
The Chiefs were the beneficiary of a game-changing defensive PI call late in their game-winning drive against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2. Daijahn Anthony was called for PI against Rashee Rice, nullifying a stop on 4th-and-16 stop that led to Harrison Butker’s game-winning field goal.
Then there was this case of a clear-as-day missed PI call against the Chiefs against Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts in the end zone:
LAST WEEK: Pass interference call on the #Bengals against the #Chiefs
THIS WEEK: Clear pass interference on a #Chiefs defender, against the #Falcons, NO CALL FROM THE #NFL REFS
THIS IS CRAZY.
(Powered by @LASIKdotcom: h/t @Rate_the_Refs) pic.twitter.com/iWfMczmAR1
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) September 23, 2024
At the end of the day, the dynastic Patriots and Mahomes’ Chiefs have both benefited from questionable officiating. Don’t forget the “Tuck Rule” or all the times Brady drew cheap roughing-the-passer calls.
But is Gronk’s claim about KC getting more calls than the Patriots legitimate? You decide.
