The three-time Super Bowl champion fired a warning shot against the Chiefs despite the officiating controversy
The Kansas City Chiefs advanced to the AFC Championship Game for the seventh straight season after a 23-14 victory over the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium. Although the reigning champions were heavy favorites to win the game, the victory was marred by controversy due to several questionable refereeing decisions in favor of Chiefs.
Two 15-yard penalties against the Texans at critical points in the game became a key talking point. However, threefold Super Bowl champion Mark Schlereth believes those calls overshadowed how exceptionally well the Chiefs’ defense and special teams played against Houston.
During his appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show” on Monday, he said:
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“I have a lot of respect for the Kansas City Chiefs. A personal foul and a late hit by the quarterback, that’s not what caused the eight sacks [Houston Texans] gave up.
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“It wasn’t the lack of attention to detail on special teams and the blocked field goal and the punt return and all that stuff. Kansas City just puts you in a position to make mistakes.”
Mark Schlereth pays tribute to Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo
The Texans had a chance to cut the Chiefs’ lead to three points late in the fourth. However, instead of sitting back and protecting the end zone, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has increased the all-around pressure for five straight games.
The defense sacked the quarterback CJ Stroud on back-to-back plays, forcing Houston to settle for a field goal attempt, which linebacker Leo Chanel blocked at the line of scrimmage, effectively ending the game.
Mark Schlereth praised Spagnuolo’s play and claimed that his courage and the players’ faith in him made it difficult to beat the Chiefs. he said:
“I go back to Steve Spagnuolo. He’s played about five straight games where there’s no coverage and he’s like, ‘Hey, man, I have so much faith in my guys, their ability to get there if I blitz, their ability to cover on the backside and thing, that we’ll just go after the quarterback and we’ll go get him.’ The bottom line is the Chiefs just go out and find ways to win.”
Kansas City is just two wins away from an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl victory and while getting through the finish line won’t be easy, few would bet against them.
Edited by Brad Taningco