Chiefs coach Andy Reid said after today’s loss to the Bengals that he wanted a replay review of a potential Joe Mixon fumble, but the officials told him the play couldn’t be reviewed because Mixon had given himself up.
Reid said he called timeout and talked to the officials asking them to review the play. In overtime, all reviews must be initiated by the officials, not by coaches’ challenges.
“They said he gave himself up,” Reid said.
But Mixon did not give himself up, the way that term is typically understood, like when a quarterback slides. Mixon was knocked down, then got up on his own, then dropped the football, and a Chiefs player picked it up. It was unclear from the replays shown on the CBS broadcast whether Mixon collided with a Chiefs player or one of his own teammates before he went to the ground, and it was also unclear whether the Chiefs had a clear and immediate recovery of the loose ball before the officials blew the whistle and ended the play.
It is true that Mixon was no longer trying to advance the ball, which is apparently what the officials meant by saying Mixon gave himself up, but the play seemed to be close enough that it should have been reviewed (and also should have been discussed on the CBS broadcast). But it wasn’t, and a questionable call helped the Bengals get to the Super Bowl.
