Former ESPN anchor Linda Cohn criticized social-media comments by Brittany Mahomes and Kelly Stafford, whose complaints this month concerned officiating and the Rams’ schedule. Her remarks focused in part on how those comments might be received by fans with different day-to-day circumstances.
The dispute traces back to a bitter finish on November 1, when the Kansas City Chiefs lost 28-24 to the Denver Broncos, according to NDTV. In the game's final seconds, Patrick Mahomes threw a potential go-ahead touchdown pass to Rashee Rice, only for officials to flag right tackle Jaylon Moore for a false start, wiping the score off the board. Brittany Mahomes, Patrick's wife, took to Instagram afterward to question the call, writing, “You can't tell me you call that on a game-winning TD, oh wait yeah I can cause it's us.”
Cohn, described by the Daily Mail as a former ESPN SportsCenter anchor, said on her self-titled podcast that she did not see the call as evidence officials were targeting Kansas City. She also noted that fans of other teams have long disputed calls they viewed as favorable to the Chiefs.
Cohn Points to a Prior Officiating Fight Involving the Chiefs
Cohn also pointed to the Chiefs' January 2025 playoff game against Houston, when Texans publicly criticized calls they believed favored Kansas City, according to Pro Football Network. She cited that episode as a reason not to assume officiating has consistently worked against the Chiefs.
On her podcast, Cohn didn't hold back on the broader point either. “Marriage to a quarterback doesn't disqualify you from commentary, from having an opinion. It also doesn't exempt your commentary from criticism,” she said, per the Daily Mail. She added a pointed suggestion that Mahomes consider expanding her circle of perspectives before posting.
Kelly Stafford's Schedule Complaint Draws a Separate Rebuke
Cohn's criticism wasn't limited to the Chiefs' corner. She also weighed in on comments from Kelly Stafford, wife of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who complained about the Los Angeles Rams' 2026 schedule. Stafford said that she needed a break during the season despite never having played a single NFL snap, telling fans, “even I need a week off during the season...and I have never played a single snap,” according to CBS Sports.
Stafford also said the arrangement left the Rams as the only team in the NFL without a true bye week, the same CBS Sports report notes. But NFL.com lists both the Packers and Rams as having their bye in Week 11 of 2026. The Rams' official schedule likewise shows a Week 11 bye, with games at Arizona on November 15 and at home against Green Bay on November 25, according to the Los Angeles Rams. NDTV highlighted the 10-day gap between those games.
What the Rams’ schedule shows
The schedule distinguishes a formal bye from the spacing between games: Los Angeles plays Arizona on Nov. 15, has a Week 11 bye, then hosts Green Bay on Nov. 25, according to the Rams’ official schedule linked above. NFL.com, also cited above, lists Green Bay and Los Angeles among the teams with a Week 11 bye, so the Rams’ formal bye is not unique.
'Know the Room,' Cohn Tells Both Women
Cohn said she understood the underlying argument about player recovery but suggested Stafford had misjudged how her comments would be received. “Kelly makes the case for player recovery that's a conversation worth having. Just understand why your own game day exhaustion might not generate the sympathy you expect,” Cohn said, according to NDTV's report.
Her broader message to both women centered on self-awareness. “How is this going to sound to somebody whose life looks very, very different from my own? Three words, know the room,” Cohn said, per the Daily Mail. The comment encapsulated her larger critique: that public complaints from NFL spouses about officiating or scheduling can land very differently with fans navigating far more ordinary demands on their time and patience.
Neither Mahomes nor Stafford has publicly responded to Cohn's remarks. The New York Post first reported on Cohn's comments, which came amid renewed attention on how NFL players' spouses use social media to weigh in on hot-button moments from the sidelines of their husbands' careers.
