Ex-Bills' WR Terrell Owens calls out NFL for officiating bias benefitting Chiefs

Exactly twenty years after his memorable Super Bowl XXXIX appearance for the Philadelphia Eagles, former Buffalo Bills' wide receiver Terrell Owens had plenty to say about this Sunday's big game between the Birds and the reigning two-time champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Owens, who spent the 2009 season in Buffalo, appeared on the IT IS WHAT IT IS podcast and unleashed hot takes on the Super Bowl LIX matchup, the Chiefs and NFL officiating.

“I'm just not going to count them out with just those guys [Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid] alone, and you got to factor in the refs. The refs have been a factor in pretty much a lot of their wins," said Owens.

While the Bills' failure to execute in a few key spots ultimately led to a 32-29 loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, there were multiple close calls that wound up falling in Kansas City's favor. In the first half, Chiefs' WR Xavier Worthy was awarded a catch down near the goal line despite clear video evidence of the ball hitting the ground before the receiver gained possession.

Terrell Owens catch — Nov 29, 2009; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Terrell Owens (81) catches a pass against the Miami Dolphins in the second half at Ralph Wilson Stadium. | Kevin Hoffman-Imagn Images

"It's crazy, because I played the game and I'm watching the game and I'm looking at all these calls that they're just, that's benefiting the Kansas City Chiefs," said Owens. "Look at the game before [Buffalo], against the Texans. Mahomes is smart, he's dinking around, he's causing the flag, you know what I mean? He's getting the benefit. He didn't even get hit. Fifteen-yard flag, the guy, Will Anderson, barely hit him. That can stop the momentum of the game. At that point in time, the Houston Texans were in the game. Those calls right there advances them, gives them extra downs. It changed the whole complexity of the game.”

Speaking of changing "the whole complexity of the game," the Bills held a 22-21 fourth-quarter lead over the Chiefs when they fell victim to back-to-back questionable spots that led to a turnover on downs in opponent territory. Not only did Buffalo appear to reach the line to gain on both third and fourth down, a Chiefs defender was seemingly lined up in the neutral zone at the snap.

“It's blatant. It's unreal," said Owens. "I never thought I would say that I thought games were rigged. It is unreal at the amount of calls that are not called against the Kansas City Chiefs that are called against everybody else.”

Affectionately nicknamed T.O., Owens finished his NFL career with 15,934 receiving yards and 153 touchdowns. The five-time All-Pro First Team selection was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018. In 16 games for the 2009 Bills, Owens accounted for 883 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns.

The Chiefs' defense stops them on fourth down!

📺: #BUFvsKC on CBS
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus and Paramount+ pic.twitter.com/VwGmEZ3IrW
— NFL (@NFL) January 27, 2025

— Enjoy free coverage of the Bills from Buffalo Bills on SI —

More Buffalo Bills News:

4 reasonably-priced free agents for Bills to re-sign this offseason

Josh Allen surpasses Tom Brady in telltale performance metric

Ex-NFL QB Dan Orlovsky's two moves that could propel Bills to Super Bowl

Veteran pass-catcher identified as Buffalo Bills worst free-agent signing of 2024

Former Bills' starter spits facts to dismantle RG3's bogus Josh Allen claim