During the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills AFC Championship game, many fans felt the referees had some questionable calls that potentially influenced the outcome. Specifically, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, there were back-to-back plays where Bills fan believe Line Judge referee Patrick Holt blatantly misspotted the ball.
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On a 3rd down & 3, with 13:00 minutes left in the game, tight end Dalton Kincaid appeared to have easily cleared the first down marker on his catch.
bills fans still salty 🧂...yeah that spot was bad tho pic.twitter.com/51hQIVIvQl
— Robert Smith (@RobUser679112) January 28, 2025
However, after Line Judge Holt surprisingly called it short, the Bills were forced to go for it while leading 22-21.
On the very next play quarterback Josh Allen snuck it up the middle and looked to have crossed the first down line.
Clear first down by Josh Allen. No doubt about it but somehow the refs give him a terrible spot lol pic.twitter.com/lBXspdXZtX
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) January 27, 2025
However, Holt thought otherwise once again, as he marked the ball short of the line to gain.
🚨BREAKING: A NEW ANGLE SHOWS THAT JOSH ALLEN CLEARLY PICKED UP THE 1ST DOWN VIA THE OVERLAID LINE.
🤯
The refs ruled Allen short on the fourth-down play… completely changing the game's outcome.
THE #BILLS GOT SCREWED BIG-TIME BY THE REFS.pic.twitter.com/fzUBrjqkRj
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) January 28, 2025
This turned out to be a big momentum changer, as the Chiefs ultimately won the game, 32-29.
Considering the frustration from Bills fans after the loss, they evidently did their research and dug up some old social media posts by referee Holt, in which they found out he allegedly is a huge Baltimore Ravens fan.
That guy wearing The Ravens hat is Patrick Holt 🤔 This down judge who marked Josh short. If the NFL won’t hold these officials accountable The Mafia will. Go Bills pic.twitter.com/UxLc67gDmm
— GoBills 🦬 (@DrunkTowns) January 28, 2025
The reason why this may be important, is the fact that the Ravens lost to the Bills in the AFC Divisional Round last week (27-25).
Even more, apparently Holt has family in the Kansas City area, which has led to much speculation.
Line judge Patrick Holt, who made the awful spot decision for Kincaid & Josh Allen in the Bills-Chiefs game, is a certified Ravens fan who also has family ties in Kansas City. Shocker pic.twitter.com/FO3X43Pi1m
— 𝙏𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝘽𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙨 (@tailgate_beers) January 28, 2025
One of Holt's old Facebook posts read, "Good day to be a Baltimore Ravens fan." In another he wrote, "Fear the Purple & Black" and "Go Ravens!!!!!"
If I'm the Bills, I'm requesting that the official crew be fired. Either that or ask if they rigged it for the Chiefs. Note: The line is the first down. The circle is where the ball is. The x is where they spotted after the play. pic.twitter.com/goky0Jd9it
— YourMaster 🍀💚🍻 (@YourMaster3000) January 27, 2025
Interestingly enough, Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey even said the refs robbed the Bills, in view of where the ball was spotted on Allen's 4th down run.
They lowkey did rob the Bills from the 4th down conversion. Josh definitely crossed the line
— marlonhumphrey.eth (@marlon_humphrey) January 27, 2025
Barstool founder Dave Portnoy was one of those who were angry over the Line Judge's calls, and understandably so, as he bet $1 million dollars on the Bills to win the game.
He claimed the NFL is "rigged."
I’m quitting watching football. There is no other way to teach @nflcommish a lesson. This is blatant cheating. #nflrigged pic.twitter.com/fGzya6LOQX
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) January 27, 2025
The fact the ref who spotted this football was totally blocked by Josh Allen’s back and the ref who was looking right at it just held his dick in his pants will never make sense till the end of time. #nflrigged pic.twitter.com/a7SitYe4fP
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) January 27, 2025
This is so disgusting I can’t even handle it. @NFL @nflcommish #nflrigged #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/rbEO0CNkg9
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) January 27, 2025
Portnoy stated that play cost the Bills the Super Bowl, and while this may be a bit of an exaggeration, it undoubtedly played a factor in Buffalo losing momentum on a potential scoring drive.
That is to say, after the turnover on downs, the Chiefs started their next drive with good field position and ended up scoring a touchdown, in addition to converting a two-point attempt to take a touchdown lead.
And Kansas City held on to win, as they now advance to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, where they will take on the Philadelphia Eagles (February 9 at 6:30 pm ET), in what will be a rematch of Super Bowl LVII.
Notably, the Chiefs are in search of a three-peat, which has never been done before in NFL history.
Patrick Holt is a small but huge reason we aren’t celebrating a SB trip. Don’t know if the outcome would have been different, but his decision was a turnover for the Bills and a potential 10-16 point swing pic.twitter.com/DhXJm865rq
— GoBills 🦬 (@DrunkTowns) January 28, 2025
All in all, the NFL has received much backlash for the Chiefs seemingly getting favorable calls from officials en route to their fifth Super Bowl appearance in six years, and the speculation surrounding possible referee bias certainly is only adding to the conspiracy theories.
NFL IS RIGGED!
Patrick Holts had a TERRIBLE spot last night in the Chiefs and Bills game.
Patrick Holts has officiated the Kansas City Chiefs NINE times
(4 more than any other team)
The chiefs are 8-1 when he officiates as the down judge…. pic.twitter.com/KnyGonzw0U
— kane (@1of1kane) January 27, 2025
I’d like to think of myself as a free-thinking person that rarely resorts to conspiracy theories to explain life outcomes.
But what just transpired on that Bills spot is only reinforcing what many, many NFL fans believe: The Chiefs receive an unfair advantage from the referees.… pic.twitter.com/IO8cssV4dD
— Bryan Tweed (@BryanTweed16) January 27, 2025
Related: Fans Rip 'Rigged' NFL During Bills, Chiefs AFC Championship Game
