Patrick Mahomes Downplays Super Bowl 55 Officiating After Chiefs' Loss to Bucs

While it became less of a storyline as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pulled away and proved they were the better team during their 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Sunday's Super Bowl, the difference in penalties was noteworthy. 

Kansas City was penalized 11 times for 120 yards compared to Tampa Bay's four penalties for 39 yards, and one flag that wiped out a Tyrann Mathieu interception in the second quarter stood out because the game was very much up for grabs.

Still, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes downplayed the idea that call impacted his team's morale during an appearance on 610 Sports Radio Kansas City:

"No, I didn't [think so]. It goes both ways. Stuff like that happens. Obviously, it didn't happen in our favor in this game and it's hard to take, but that stuff evens out over time. 

"I thought the defense played extremely hard. [They] held us in the game as long as they possibly could and that call happened. Obviously, I didn't like it at the time but that stuff happens in the league."

That closing stretch of the first half that included the interception nullified by a flag proved particularly costly for the Chiefs.

They appeared to seize the momentum with a goal-line stand by stuffing Ronald Jones II on a fourth-down play, but Tampa Bay marched down the field and scored touchdowns on its next two possessions before halftime.

The first touchdown drive included the interception that wasn't, and the second one came when Kansas City head coach Andy Reid stopped the clock with a timeout when Tampa Bay appeared content to take a 14-6 lead into the locker room. Tom Brady used that extra time to lead the offense to another touchdown, and the Chiefs never recovered.

Officiating played a role in that touchdown drive as well with two pass interference penalties, one of which was called on Mathieu in the end zone, helping the Bucs move down the field.

Still, it was hard to argue against the final result.

Tampa Bay's defense overwhelmed the Chiefs throughout the game and held Mahomes and Co. without a single touchdown. Kansas City's banged up offensive line didn't give him nearly enough time to throw, and much of the second half seemed like a formality even with the disparity in penalties.