Adam Schefter skewered by former Chief for ‘spewing BS’ in Patrick Mahomes penalty tweet

ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter came under fire for his reporting this past weekend that the NFL is expected to expand replay assist that could include quarterback slides this offseason.

Schefter seemed to imply that the potential rule change was influenced by Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes — specifically an unnecessary roughness call against Texans linebacker Henry To’oTo’o when Mahomes slid late, causing two Texans defenders to collide over him in the third quarter of the AFC Divisional Round playoff clash last Saturday. The Chiefs won that game, 23-14, in Kansas City.

Former offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz — who won a Super Bowl alongside Mahomes with the Chiefs in 2023 — was among those that took issue with Schefter using Mahomes as a reference in his report.

“For all those complaining that Patrick Mahomes gets too many calls, relief soon could be on the way, Schefter wrote Saturday on X. “NFL replay assist is expected to expand this offseason into plays that could include the quarterback slide, league sources told ESPN.”

The officiating, especially during Chiefs games, has been a hot topic this season — with many insisting the two-time defending champs are benefitting from favorable calls.

“The league’s voice with the largest reach is insinuating the league both influences games via refereeing AND favors one team specifically. It’s not a cute little joke,” Schwartz wrote, adding Schefter’s message in his post. “That would be the biggest sports scandal ever, especially with everything being tied to gambling these days.”

Schwartz, who retired in 2022, went on to express disappointed that Schefter’s would “spew this kind of BS” as an NFL insider.

“It’s insane that someone in the league is pushing this, and/or allowing the most visible person to spew this kind of BS,” Schwartz wrote. “Maybe the Chiefs are better coached and don’t hit QBs late or in the head/neck. Back in my day teams who got less penalties called were considered better coached. Insane.”

Nick Wright, a host on Fox Sports 1’s “First Things First” and a noted Chiefs fan, said Schefter was doing a “disservice to fans” by “feeding” into that narrative.

“I get why the anonymous account are feeding this: They get paid off of engagement & that’s their hustle. But for @AdamSchefter, who makes *9M a year*, feed into this on arguably the single best day of football of the year, just to satisfy the algorithm, is a disservice to fans,” Wright wrote.

In another post, Wright explained that it’s not personal, but took issue with Schefter framing his story around Mahomes.

“Listen, I (and basically everyone) like @AdamSchefter,” Wright wrote. “But writing this piece, framing it around Mahomes exclusively, and not including the fact that *the league says both calls were correct & replay wouldn’t have changed either* is simply ludicrous & poor journalism.”

Actor Eric Stonestreet, who’s a diehard Chiefs fan, also weighed in.

The “Modern Family” star responded “!!!!!” to a tweet that said “It’s RIGGED!” with Schefter’s message.

Schefter defended his reporting on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday.

“The facts are the facts. I presented the facts,” Schefter said. There was zero — let me be very clear about that — zero intent behind that. I’m a little surprised that people are so offended with factual information. There was zero agenda. It was a number, some stats in conjunction with a story that the NFL is considering expanding replay assist to include plays that include quarterback slides. That’s it. Those are the numbers. That’s it. No agenda.”

The NFL stood by the officiating in the Chiefs-Texans divisional round playoff game after uproar over multiple penalties against the Texans for unnecessary roughness and roughing the passer on Mahomes.

ESPN analyst Troy Aikman, who was on the call for that game, was frustrated as he disagreed with the unnecessary roughness call against To’oTo’o in the third quarter — which drew a 15-yard penalty.

“Oh come on,” Aikman said on the broadcast after the was called, adding that the NFL needs to address it in the offseason. “I mean, he’s a runner and I could not disagree with that one more. He barely gets hit.

“You can’t, as a quarterback, run around and play games with the defenders and then get called for a penalty,” Aikman said.

The NFL’s competition committee will discuss expanding replay assist at the league’s annual meeting, which will be held March in Palm Beach, Fla.

Mahomes reacted to the situation and explained that he doesn’t believe the Chiefs are favored by the referees.

“I don’t feel that way,” Mahomes said last week. “At the end of the day, the referees are doing their best to call the game as fair and as proper as they possibly can.

“All you can do is go out there and play the game that you love as hard as you can and live with the results. … I feel like I’ve just continued to play the game, and I just try to win, and whatever happens kind of happens.”

Kansas City is on the brink of a historic three-peat.

The Chiefs and Eagles will meet in a Super Bowl rematch in New Orleans on Feb. 9.

Kansas City beat Philadelphia, 38-35, in Super Bowl 2023.