“Fighting Mahomes and the refs” – Shawn Hochuli being announced as the head referee for Bills-Chiefs Divisional Round Game doesn’t sit well with Buffalo fans
The Bills are set to host the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional game this weekend.
The NFL postseason season is getting really interesting. In the second round of the playoffs, the AFC East champions, Buffalo Bills are set to host the AFC West champions, the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend. Recently, the league announced that the exciting divisional round game will be officiated by a crew headed by Shawn Hochuli, which has caused concerns among the Bills fans.
Shawn Hochuli, son of former NFL referee Ed Hochuli, entered the league back in 2014 and was promoted to be a lead referee in 2018. He is known for calling penalty-filled games and has been accused of favoring the Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles for various reasons.
The Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs have a record of 8 wins and 2 losses whenever Hochuli officiates their game, including a clean 2-0 record in the postseason. On the flip side, the Buffalo-based football team has an ugly record of just 1 win and 3 losses, when the game was officiated by Hochuli.
In the 4 Bills games Hochuli has officiated so far, he has called 40 penalties on them for 347 yards. Besides, there are also instances where he missed to call a penalty against the Bills’ opponents. Most recently, Hochuli’s crew failed to call a blatant horse collar tackle penalty on Josh Allen during their regular season matchup against the Eagles.
The NFL has released the Referee assignments for the Divisional Round:
– John Hussey#Packers vs.#49ers – Alex KempSunday:#Buccaneers vs. #Lions – Bill Vinovich#Chiefs vs. #Bills – Shawn Hochuli https://t.co/6LZyVwbVz3 pic.twitter.com/sR50a4aniM
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 16, 2024
Apart from the referees, the other bit of bad news for the Bills is injuries. Throughout the season, the Bills have been plagued with injuries to several of their star players. In the wildcard game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, many players including Gabe Davis, Rasul Douglas, and Taylor Rapp couldn’t play due to injuries. Furthermore, they also lost some other players during the game.
The Bills’ head coach Sean McDermott recently announced all the injured players are on a day-to-day process and will see how the week unfolds for them.
Social media reacts to Shawn Hochuli being announced as head referee for the Chiefs-Bills game
NFL fans on social media, especially the Bills fans were not happy to see Shawn Hochuli being announced as the head referee for their divisional-round game against the Chiefs.
Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen (Via Imago/People)
Fans have already started worrying about the Bills’ chances of beating the Chiefs in a game officiated by Hochuli. Check out some of the reactions attached below.
Bills fans are crying about Shawn Hochuli and they should.
In four games against Josh Allen's Bills, Hochuli has called 40 penalties for 347 yards.
You're fighting Mahomes and the refs this Sunday, Buffalo. pic.twitter.com/qDuxIc40OJ
— 📽️ Red Tribe Cinema (@ClayWendler) January 16, 2024
To all Bills fans crying about Shawn Hochuli after the Chiefs had to deal with Carl Cheffers bullshit in Week 14 pic.twitter.com/VgOlpI6eLU
— 📽️ Red Tribe Cinema (@ClayWendler) January 16, 2024
Last time Shawn Hochuli officiated a game against the Bills, he gave us this beauty https://t.co/TEhjb1cYfe
— Circling The Wagons Podcast (@CTWpod) January 17, 2024
Finding out Shawn Hochuli & his crew are officiating the most important game of the year #KCvsBUF pic.twitter.com/elIcegPfyU
— Circling The Wagons Podcast (@CTWpod) January 17, 2024
https://twitter.com/TinMan11B_/status/1747444011131134398?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1747444011131134398%7Ctwgr%5E5dac86e2e3b151d281569b178e207ddbc8c15a36%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirstsportz.com%2Fnfl-news-shawn-hochuli-announced-as-head-referee-for-bills-chiefs-divisional-game%2F
Shawn Hochuli to ref Buff vs KC. Tell me the NFL isn't fixed without telling me the NFL is fixed.
— BillsMafia Pittsburgh (@BillsPittsburgh) January 16, 2024
https://twitter.com/steviebk77/status/1747362054711750893?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1747362054711750893%7Ctwgr%5E5dac86e2e3b151d281569b178e207ddbc8c15a36%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirstsportz.com%2Fnfl-news-shawn-hochuli-announced-as-head-referee-for-bills-chiefs-divisional-game%2F
The Chiefs have drawn Shawn Hochuli for the Divisional Round.
The Chiefs are 8-2 with Hochuli in the Mahomes era, including 2-0 in the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/R58QdmgwTn
— 📽️ Red Tribe Cinema (@ClayWendler) January 16, 2024
Wow
Hochuli is famous for flag football #BillsMafia #Bills be ready for blatant calls#NFL doesn’t want to disappoint KC swifties @NFLOfficiating Just call it a KC game already#nfl #nflofficiating #chiefs #ShawnHochuli https://t.co/YWWxInN7rH pic.twitter.com/a8HO4ouC3N
— Slachthuis⚡️⚡️🇺🇸 (@slachthuis_) January 16, 2024
Hold up Chiefs and Bills have Hochuli? https://t.co/h7YFg8zSI4 pic.twitter.com/IpM9bhytVf
— Mr. Williams (@deecwilliams) January 16, 2024
Worst crew ever #BillsMafia https://t.co/EEjBTT8iym
— Bakes (@bakebm46) January 16, 2024
We lost screw this league https://t.co/XKgFvykkyZ
— MRW (@MRW_SSB) January 16, 2024
Oh boy bills gonna have to play the chiefs and the refs 😭 https://t.co/1JGbO29ykK
— Kyle (@KylesKingdom_) January 16, 2024
Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs on their victory this Sunday. Corrupt Hochuli will do whatever it takes to prevent a Bills win. https://t.co/731NdNWcAe
— m (@cfcmmb) January 16, 2024
Apart from speculations and theories, there is no proof that Hochuli favors the Chiefs or any other team. Nonetheless, the fans can expect another blockbuster duel between the two top quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen in the postseason.
