To some, the Kansas City Chiefs' divisional round win over the Houston Texans on Saturday was hard-earned. To others, not so much.

Texans star edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. found himself in the middle of a heated controversy during his team’s 23-14 playoff loss when he was penalized for roughing the passer early in the game.

Despite Anderson’s seemingly clean hit on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the officials handed the Texans a 15-yard penalty and the Chiefs an automatic first down on what would have been a fourth-and-long in the first quarter. Kansas City would score a field goal several plays later.

With the loss still fresh in his mind, Anderson had a scathing remark on the game’s officiating in a postgame interview.

“We knew it was going to be us against the refs going into this game,” Anderson told reporters. “I just assumed like, man, we gotta go out there and do much better. In some instances we didn’t do that, in some instances we did.”

Anderson’s words echo that of Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, who similarly told reporters that his team knew it was “us versus everybody” entering Saturday’s game.

“We knew going into this game, it was us versus everybody,” Ryans said. “When I say everybody, it's everybody. The naysayers, the doubt, everybody we had to go up against today.”

The Texans finished their 2024 regular season at the top of the AFC South with a 10-7 record. This year marked the second straight time Houston crashed out of the playoffs in the divisional round.

More of the Latest Around the NFL


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Texans' Will Anderson Jr. Took Brazen Shot at Refs After Controversial Loss to Chiefs.