The current controversy in the NFL has the Chiefs angry and frustrated football fans who were deprived of an exceptional play at the end of a hard-fought matchup against the Bills, but the referees' decision was clearly the right one. The Chiefs are solely responsible for the offside penalty fiasco that sealed the outcome of the game.
• Also read: A completely strange day in the NFL!
A brief return to the scene of the crime is necessary before more is said…
Trailing by three points at the end of the game, the Chiefs moved up in midfield. Patrick Mahomes joined Travis Kelce at the Bills' 24 and the tight end turned to relay a lateral pass to teammate Kadarius Toney, alone late, who easily covered the rest of the distance.
There was euphoria in Kansas City with that likely winning touchdown with 1 minute, 12 seconds left. Small detail, however… Toney was offside before the fateful play began, which was called off.
Since then, Chiefs fans have been cursed, for lack of more Christian words. Patrick Mahomes threw a tantrum on the sidelines. Head coach Andy Reid usually calmly said in his postgame comments that the NFL should be ashamed.
“He would be the star. Everyone would run to Kadarius Toney. 'How does it feel to win the game?' But you know what? He was loitering! And then he ruined it!” pic.twitter.com/WSUAcXkF1U
– Awful Announcement (@awfulanncreasing) December 11, 2023
A clear offense
It's the hot topic of the league because the game was spectacular and because a referee's decision once again stole the show, some would say, from the creativity and excellence of the players on the field.
This is an understandable position given the magnitude of the moment, but it is nonetheless unjustifiable. Should the officer really turn a blind eye to a blatant violation just to avoid compromising the quality of the show?
Many talk about eagerness, but you only have to watch the sequence to see without a shadow of a doubt that Toney is focused off the ball. What difference does that make to the flow of the game, you might say? There has to be a limit somewhere, and Toney never has the presence of mind to turn to the official to make sure his positioning is acceptable.
Others, including Andy Reid, say that in such a situation the referee is usually the first to issue a warning. In this specific case, the recipient is so advanced that he must bear full responsibility for his mistake.
Instead of crucifying an official who has no choice but to enforce the rules, why not blame Toney, who clearly lacked focus at a critical moment?
Reid and Mahomes said they haven't seen anything like this in terms of offside penalties in recent years. You should stop thinking about the last few years and realize that the NFL has clearly placed an emphasis on this type of offense this season.
According to The Ringer website, this penalty was imposed once in 2021, three times in 2022 and … twelve times in 2023. In other words, the emphasis on this rule simply wasn't apparent on Sunday.
Repeated mistakes
The Chiefs are still serious Super Bowl contenders, but they're the ones making life difficult this season, not the Zebras.
By the way, this isn't the first time Toney has made a big mistake. We can't forget his terrible opening game against the Lions, when a pass he juggled ended up as an interception for a touchdown.
There was also Mahomes' bomb against Marquez Valdes-Scantling, which he foolishly botched in another close game against the Eagles. Skyy Moore also missed a sure touchdown against the Broncos in the fourth quarter. Before the duel against the Bills, the Chiefs were at the top in a very sad category with 25 lost passes.
They decided to play Russian roulette with a group of inferior receivers. Their quarterback, as talented as he is, cannot consistently hide the lack of talent in the group of players tasked with catching his passes. Four of the Chiefs' five losses came on one possession, and in this type of game, one or two big plays from the receivers can make the difference.
Ultimately, we can understand Mahomes yelling at a referee at the height of stress at the end of a game. Still, Kadarius Toney and the receivers are really the ones who deserve a solid run this season.
The Chiefs were betting heavily that Mahomes' unique talent would make up for their incompetence. If they don't achieve their goals, it's not the referee's fault.