Tom Brady drops eye-opening take on flags after Bengals-Chiefs controversy

Tom Brady voiced his opinions on NFL referees and penalty flags after the controversial ending to the Bengals-Chiefs AFC Championship

The Cincinnati Bengals-Kansas City Chiefs AFC Championship showdown left quite the controversy in its wake following the decisive late hit penalty called against Joseph Ossai on Patrick Mahomes. Just about everyone has weighed in on the call, and now Tom Brady shared his own eye-opening take during a recent episode of his Let's Go! Podcast. Brady admitted that, if it was his job, he'd only call a penalty if it met three specific criteria.

“This is what I believe . . . there were three terms they used . . . it was clear, it was obvious and . . . it was prolonged. At the end of the day that would be my barometer for throwing flags. That would be my barometer for taunting. Was it clear? Was it obvious? And was it prolonged? If it meets those criteria, penalty,” said Brady.

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As for the best approach? Brady doesn't know. But he prefers when referees sit back and let the game go on organically, and thinks his fellow players would agree.

“When you get to the playoffs a lot of times they don’t call it in the playoffs, which I think as players we really actually like that. We like when they let us play. Now, can that go too far? Absolutely. If you’re thinking about rule changes in refereeing, it’s very difficult because when you slow-mo things down to the millisecond on a TV review, yeah, everyone’s going to be up in arms about everything. But when you’re monitoring those things in real time, they’re happening so quick. So I think clear, obvious, and prolonged is a great way…” Brady added.

With every controversial call, one team will benefit and the other will get the short end of the stick. That's just the way things are. In order to best combat that, Brady believes referees need to be more strict with their calls, ensuring that all three criteria of “clear, obvious, and prolonged” are met before the flag is tossed.

Refereeing is nothing if not an imperfect science, but fans will always demand the best possible product from the NFL, and when controversial calls decide games such as it did in the AFC Championship, feathers are going to be ruffled regardless of what team benefits.

Tom Brady, perhaps better than anyone else, understands that officiating isn't flawless, and never will be. But that doesn't mean it can't be improved or more consistent as a whole.