When it comes to the present landscape of the NFL, the referees are part of the conversation. Some weeks involve some obvious mistakes by officiating. There are just as many correct calls made in split-second moments that do not get enough attention. But with the popularity of the league and the online presence surrounding the game in multiple areas, strong opinions are formed surrounding officiating.
The Kansas City Chiefs have long been teased by other fan bases for getting all the calls. It is not anything remotely true, as the numbers indicate from the last handful of seasons. And to open this 2026 season, penalties have once again been an internal hurdle for the Chiefs to overcome.
How does Kansas City stack up in terms of penalties so far this season? Plus, are the rankings showing any trends regarding the Chiefs?
K.C. only has one game with less than 7 penalties in 2026
It is important to note that penalties were up heavily to open the season across the entire league. A lot of that is due to the NFL hoping to emphasize certain rulings that were not as prevalent at the end of the previous season. But overall, K.C. has still dealt with constant struggles with the yellow hanky.
The Chiefs rank 12th in penalties accepted against them (52). Based on how consistently Kansas City has racked up calls against them, it was surprising to find that they ranked in the better half of that category.
Interestingly, though, Kansas City has only one game this season in which it finished with fewer than seven penalties. Ironically, that was the Chiefs' worst showing of the season in Seattle. They finished the night with just two infractions.
The Chiefs finished with seven penalties in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos. That was followed by exactly eight penalties committed in four consecutive games after defeating the Broncos. And last week against Denver, Kansas City's 11 penalties were its highest total in a single game this season.
Additional notes, trends surrounding Chiefs' penalties
Here are some other numbers that are intriguing surrounding the Chiefs and their penalties in 2026. A few trends stand out. For one, a large percentage of Kansas City's fouls are occurring during or after the play. Of their 52 penalties, 38 fall in that bucket. K.C. also has 10 extra penalties that were not accepted against them. Six were declined, and another four fouls occurred in situations that resulted in offsetting fouls.
Amazingly, the Chiefs are tied with the San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons for the fewest pre-snap penalties in the league (14). They have had some sloppy moments. But the Chiefs have still avoided routine incompetence before the snap like others have struggled with.
Another item to note is the penalty yardage. Kansas City is 18th in the NFL in penalty yards (464) on fouls accepted against them. They simply have had too many infractions take place down the field. Through seven games, the Chiefs are averaging 66.29 penalty yards per game. That comes with committing 7.43 penalties per game. Kansas City takes 1.29 more penalties per game than its opponent. And the Chiefs are averaging 23.43 more penalty yards per game than the opposition.
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