'Disservice to the game': Tom Brady takes swipe at NFL after Patrick Mahomes treatment ignited fury

Tom Brady has taken aim at NFL officials and quarterbacks as criticism surrounding Patrick Mahomes runs rampant during the playoffs.

The superstar quarterback was in the headlines again during Kansas City's win over the Houston Texans, booking a spot in a seventh-straight AFC championship game.

Mahomes drew two controversial flags for the Chiefs - one for roughing the passer and another for unnecessary roughness - as Houston were bundled out of the post-season.

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Social media erupted during and after the game over the calls, with some belittling the three-time Super Bowl winner, who is arguably the biggest star in the game, while others directed their attention to the referees and the NFL more broadly.

Now, arguably the greatest player of all-time has weighed in to give his brutally honest thoughts.

Speaking on Fox Sports Radio's The Herd, the legendary Patriots quarterback described the way quarterbacks are ruled on when they're running the ball as "a disservice to the game" urging NFL decision-makers to make changes.

"There's an aspect of this that I don't like - and I have been pretty outspoken, not just on broadcast but in general over the past bunch of years," Brady said.

"The reality is, offensive players need to protect themselves. If they are running full-speed and the defenders are coming up - the only way to turn the ball over is to create force. You're not gonna blow on the football and gonna knock its way out.

"There needs to be an aggressiveness to doing that and when quarterbacks become running backs and get out of the pocket, they should lose their protection.

"We're trying to protect the quarterbacks, but coaches are calling more quarterback runs than ever. If you don't want to get hit, you can go down or run out of bounds.

"You can't have the defensive player come in at half-speed and you run over the defensive player because he's afraid of getting a penalty. I think it's a disservice to the game and something that I would hope people would really address.

"It does impact the quality of the game. There's no repercussions for quarterback's making poor decisions … it needs to be seriously looked at."

Kansas City will take on the Buffalo Bills on January 27 (AEDT) in a bid to make another Super Bowl and continue Mahomes' era of dominance.