Yes, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was upset after Sunday’s loss to the Bills because of the offside call that wiped out a spectacular touchdown that happened when tight end Travis Kelce caught a pass and threw a lateral to receiver Kadarius Toney.
Mahomes was candid with reporters after the 20-17 defeat.
“It’s tough to swallow,” Mahomes said, via Jeff Darlington of ESPN.com. “Not only from me, and football in general, to take away greatness like that, for a guy like Travis [Kelce] to make a play like that, you want to see the guys on the field decide the game. They’re human. They make mistakes. But every week, we’re talking about something. . . . It’s the call. Just in that moment. Not for myself. To have a flag change the outcome of the game. I’ve never had offensive offsides called. If it does, they warn you. There wasn’t a warning the entire game. And then you make a call like that in the final minute? Another game, we’re talking about the refs. It’s not what we want for the NFL. It’s not what we want for football.”
The touchdown would have given the Chiefs 24-20 lead (if the extra point had been good), with 1:12 to play.
Many are taking the position that the complaints for the Chiefs ring hollow, given that Toney seemed to be offside. But it was far from blatant. And it felt like the kind of technicality that officials have been ignoring more and more often, in an effort to boost offenses.
