BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and coach Andy Reid are crying foul at the officiating in a crucial moment during the team’s 20-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills — but refereeing experts aren’t buying it.
With less than two minutes remaining in a pivotal game for the Bills, the Chiefs appeared to have scored an improbable go-ahead touchdown after star tight end Travis Kelce pitched a lateral to wide receiver Kadarius Toney, who strolled into the endzone. The touchdown, however, was wiped off the board by a penalty; Toney had lined up offside before the snap.
While the call seemed relatively straightforward — images from the broadcast show Toney standing ahead of the line of scrimmage — Chiefs players and coaches did not hold back in their criticism of the officials.
“Refs had it out for us tonight, huh?” Kansas City running back Jerick McKinnon said in the locker room after the game.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said having the game be decided by a penalty was “tough to swallow.” He added that he had “never” had an offensive offsides foul called, and that the referees usually give a warning when an offensive player is lined up illegally.
“There wasn’t a warning the entire game. And then you make a call like that in the final minute?” Mahomes said. “Another game we’re talking about the refs. It’s not what we want for the NFL.”
“Normally I get a warning before something like that happens in a big game,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “A bit embarrassing in the NFL for that to take place.”
Official Carl Cheffers explained why the crew had no choice but to throw the flag in his comments to pool reporters after the game.
“If it’s egregious enough, it would be beyond a warning,” Cheffers said. “So really, regardless of whether or not he was warned at other times during the day, if it was an egregious alignment to where he was over the ball — whether he had warnings or not — it would still be a foul.”
Gene Steratore, a former NFL official and rules analyst for CBS, said while the general goal for referees is to avoid splitting hairs over minor infractions, Toney’s positioning was obvious enough to warrant the flag.
“Kadarius Toney is blatantly lined up offside and in the neutral zone,” Steratore said on social media. “You rarely see an offsides penalty on the offense, but that is not because this play isn’t a foul. It is because a receiver rarely lines up offsides.”
Football Zebras, a media outlet that analyzes NFL rules and officials, dismissed Mahomes and Reid’s case for a warning.
“First, the warnings typically come in the first quarter,” the outlet posted on social media. “They do not come in the 4th quarter when the receiver is aligned with the helmet of the center and a foot on the defensive side of the ball. And to be honest, that’s even more than you would expect for a 1st quarter warning.”
Kansas City, still smarting from a missed penalty call that cemented their loss to Green Bay last week, does appear to have a leg to stand on regarding the consistency of Cheffers’ crew on Sunday. On the very next play after Toney’s game-winner that wasn’t — an unsuccessful 3rd & 15 pass with 1:05 left on the clock — Bills defensive end Von Miller appeared to jump into the neutral zone before Mahomes snapped the ball. But rather than calling an infraction on Miller, the referees swallowed their whistles, and the Bills defense held on to force a turnover on downs and ice a crucial victory.
While the nature of Buffalo’s win prompted hard feelings for their AFC rivals, don’t expect Bills players — less than two weeks removed from being on the receiving end of some controversial calls in a tight loss to Philadelphia — to be contrite. Just ask defensive tackle Jordan Phillips.
“Shit, it’s about time we got a call,” Phillips said. “I’m not even going to look at the play. I don’t even care.”
Justin McMullen is a Western New York native who joined the News 4 team in 2023. You can read more of his work here.