An ESPN legend told Patrick Mahomes’ wife to expand her group chat after she blamed officials for a loss. Linda Cohn said Brittany Mahomes needs to hear what fans outside Kansas City have been saying for years. The former SportsCenter host made these comments on Friday while discussing the Chiefs’ 28-24 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Nov. 1.
The trouble started when a false start penalty wiped out a go-ahead touchdown. Mahomes found Rashee Rice in the end zone with seconds left. Officials called a penalty on right tackle Jaylon Moore just before the play. The call erased the score and pushed the team back five yards. Broncos defensive end Malcolm Roach sacked Mahomes on the next play to seal the win.
Brittany Mahomes took to Instagram to vent her frustration. She wrote, “You can’t tell me you call that on a game winning TD. That’s the weakest call I have ever seen. You can’t tell me otherwise.” Her post suggested that officials made the call because the team is the Chiefs. She wrote on Instagram, “You can’t tell me you call that on a game-winning TD, oh wait, yeah, I can, cause it’s us. That was the weakest call I have ever seen, you can’t tell me otherwise,” according to Yahoo Sports.
The Group Chat Comment
Cohn pushed back hard on the idea that refs target Kansas City. She spoke on “The Linda Cohn Show” and questioned the wife’s perspective. “Are you kidding me, Brittany? Brittany, have you heard the conversations happening constantly outside Kansas City for the last few years? You may need to expand your group chat,” Cohn said, according to Yahoo Sports. The sportscaster noted that opposing fans have long complained about calls favoring the Chiefs.
Cohn pointed to the playoff game against the Houston Texans in January 2025. Penalties involving hits on Mahomes sparked huge debates then. While the league defended the officials in that game, Cohn stated that Kansas City benefited from those calls. “So you can understand why people hear ‘because it’s us’ and think, ‘Are we remembering the same football games, Brittany?’ You saw those,” she said. The record shows the Chiefs dropped to 5-2 after the Denver loss.
A Legend Weighs In
Tom Brady also weighed in on the controversy surrounding the penalty. The seven-time Super Bowl champion reviewed the footage and reached a different conclusion than the coaching staff. Brady said, “I hate pouring salt in the wound, but the knee flinched. The refs made the right call,” according to MARCA. He argued that the movement by Moore was clear enough to warrant a false start.
Head coach Andy Reid disagreed with that assessment during his postgame press conference. Reid told reporters, “I didn’t see it.” He added, “That’s one man’s opinion. I saw him move his head, but I didn’t see a false start.” Mahomes also expressed frustration about the timing of the call, noting that such marginal infractions rarely get called in big moments.
Cohn emphasized that the rules must apply to every team equally. She noted that the possibility of a winning score does not change how a penalty is enforced. She claimed that if Denver had faced a penalty at that same location, Brittany would have insisted the rules be enforced. The standard must remain the same regardless of the team on the field.
They host the New York Jets on Sunday, Nov. 8 at Arrowhead Stadium. The team started the season 5-0 but has lost two games in a row. Mahomes completed 30-of-41 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns in the loss to Denver.
The NWSL’s Kansas City Current counts her as a founding co-owner. She also starred for UT Tyler in college before playing professionally in Iceland. Her comments on the referee call drew attention across the league.
