The Chiefs return to the playoff fold this week after watching everyone else – bar the Lions – duke it out on Wild Card weekend.

Kansas City finished the regular season with a 15-2 record, good enough to secure the AFC’s No. 1 seed, a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

After watching the weekend unfold, the three-peat chasing Chiefs know now they will take on the Houston Texans in this weekend’s divisional round following the Texans’ 32-12 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday.

Ahead of the divisional round clash the NFL has announced its referee assignments.

Clay Martin will officiate the matchup between the Chiefs and Texans, which kicks off at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET.

News of Martin’s appointment will be welcome news for Chiefs fans, with their team enjoying an undefeated record with the 49-year-old officiating their games.

KC and Mahomes are a perfect 6-0 with Martin officiating their games — quite the positive omen heading into the matchup with the Texans.

However, other NFL fans caught wind of the news and reacted to the Chiefs being handed a seemingly favorable referee.

Some claimed the Texans officially have no chance of advancing now that they’ll be playing against both the Chiefs and the refs this weekend.

“This is shameless, it’s obvious they are paving the Chiefs’ road to the Super Bowl,” remarked one fan.

“What a joke” added another.

“NFL sending in their best refs to save the Chiefs,” a third posted.

“Holding. Texans defense. 75 yard penalty, Chiefs get 6 downs to try,” joked a fourth.

“Geez, you don’t say. Anything for Patrick,” someone else chimed in with.

“Texans are cooked,” another claimed.

However, many others rightly pointed out that Mahomes, who is 89-23 in the regular season and 15-3 in the playoffs, has a ‘good record’ with ‘whatever crew is working’ his games.

The Chiefs have become a winning-machine during the ‘Showtime’ era, and likely have a positive record with any current league official.

“They’re 15-2. They’re undefeated when almost any crew is officiating,” said one fan.

“Mahomes has the best win percentage in NFL history so we are going to have a good record with almost every official,” another argued.

Mahomes has played 130 total games (including postseason) in his career.

Martin overseeing just six of them is an extremely small sample size, so it’s fair to say the fans suggesting the Chiefs-Texans game is over before it’s even started are getting a bit ahead of themselves.

Their scepticism speaks to a wider point around the NFL and the rise of certain conspiracies in recent years.

The biggest among them is that the league is ‘rigged’ or ‘scripted’ in favor of certain teams, particularly Mahomes and the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champion Chiefs.

Just last week, the Super Bowl LIX ‘script’ leaked, ‘revealing’ the winner of the upcoming big game in New Orleans.

Refereeing performances and shocking calls have led to a rise in these madcap conspiracies, but ultimately they’re nothing more than the eccentric theories of fans looking a bit too deeply into things.

The Chiefs-Texans game should be an entertaining contest, pitting two of the NFL’s brightest quarterbacks in CJ Stroud and Mahomes against one another.

Houston finished the regular season just 10-7 after a 5-1 start, but put on a clinic, especially on defense, against the Chargers on wild-card weekend.

The Chiefs are overwhelming favorites to reach the AFC Championship game, and if the Texans are to stand any chance of causing an upset this weekend it’ll largely hinge on DeMeco Ryan’s defense getting to Mahomes and forcing him into mistakes and turnovers.

Easier said than done, but the Chiefs have had pass protection issues all season long, with Mahomes being sacked a career-high 36 times this year.

Nevertheless, you’d be a brave person to bet against Mahomes, who has already beaten the Texans 27-19 this season and is chasing history and a fourth Super Bowl victory.