This is the second time in as many weeks…with the same damn team! The NFL has another huge refereeing controversy on their hands now in the wake of the Chiefs vs. Bills controversy offensive offsides call late in the game on KC.
How does this keep happening?
Despite getting stuck on the receiving end (and also massively benefiting) of a blatant missed call last week, the Kansas City Chiefs are back in the “NFL can’t ref” news ONCE AGAIN as their game against the Buffalo Bills was mired in yet another ref controversy. And, this time, I actually do feel for KC.
Alright, I know a lot of people have seen the videos of Patrick Mahomes freaking out, the Chiefs whole sideline having to keep Mahomes under control from practically attacking the refs, and seeing the Chiefs finally looking at the very real possibility of them playing a road playoff game has gotten a lot of people excited and happy with KC’s 20-17 loss to Buffalo last night, but I really have to side with the Chiefs on this issue.
If the NFL refs are going to call that type of penalty, then they MUST ENFORCE THE PENALTIES FAIRLY AND RUTHLESSLY ON BOTH TEAMS.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, the Chiefs vs. Bills game came down to the final drive…as they always do…with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense down 3 points and driving all the way to the 50-yard line. However, after a stop by the Bills defense on first down, Patrick Mahomes let fly a rocket of a throw that found Travis Kelce all the way into the Bills redzone territory.
But, instead of going down with the ball as…you know, everyone does when defenders rush upon them…Kelce threw a perfect lateral back to Kadarius Toney on the complete other side of the field.
And, the former Giants wide out pretty much ran untouched into the endzone to give the Chiefs a 23-20 lead! It was a fantastic play that best represented how spectacular this Chiefs team has been these last 7 years…and then the moment was completely ruined as it was revealed Kadarius Toney, the touchdown scorer, lined up in the neutral zone to force the refs to call the extremely rare offensive offsides.
Then, after three more stops, the Bills beat the Chiefs to improve to 7-6 and drop KC down to 8-5 and all but ensuring the Chiefs will not have playoff home field advantage for the first time in nearly a decade of postseason football under Patrick Mahomes.
Now, I’ve seen a lot of people say that the refs shouldn’t be calling such marginal penalties, and the entire outcome of the game was changed by that call as it was very likely KC would have won the game, gone on to win their next four straight, and secure another postseason of home football. But I don’t agree…at least not with that sentiement.
If you look at the replay, Kadarius Toney might as well have been a defensive end for the Bills on that play as he was THAT FAR offsides. It was a silly mistake on his part and the refs were right to call him out on it, but I don’t know why they let him line up like that. Normally, receivers and TEs check in with the refs to make sure they are lined up correctly, so I would have to assume Toney didn’t and the refs let him make his mistake.
I personally would have told him to move back if I was an NFL ref as no one wants to see a great play get called back for such a silly error, but, hey, it’s up to referee discretion on that call. What isn’t up to referee discretion is when Von Miller BLATANTLY jumps offside ON THE VERY NEXT PLAY (in chronological order of downs; he jumped on 3rd down, not the 2nd down redo), and the refs don’t call that.
Now, this is where I have an issue with the refs in this game. If you’re going to call out Toney for one of the most obscure penalties in football (offensive offsides was only called once in 2021 and twice in 2022), then you MUST call a far more blatant and game-changing call like Von Miller getting a fast break on the Chiefs offensive line and being partly responsible for Mahomes’ pass getting deflected at the line to bring up 4th and 15.
This is why everyone thinks the NFL refs suck! They not only penalize marginal calls with extremely harsh consequences, but they allow some basic and game-changing penalties go that end up costing the team on the receiving end of the penalty (or no call) the game. And, funnily enough, this has happened to KC in back-to-back weeks.
So, in a very rare moment, I actually sympathize and empathize with Chiefs fans and the Chiefs.
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