If you don't use extra lean ground beef for chili, and then don't drain it well during cooking, the fat and grease will tend to separate the rest of the sauce and give it a weird oily texture. The plant based stuff doesn't have that grease so it's harder to fuck up. If prepared right the real meat still tastes better. You also have to heavily season it during cooking.
Some of the best chili I ever had was actually made using seasoned ground turkey. Because that's naturally a lean meat.
Skill issue.