Patrick Mahomes as apoplectic on the sideline in the final seconds of Sunday's loss to the Buffalo Bills, directing his ire at the officials after a Kadarius Toney offsides penalty negated what would have been the go-ahead touchdown.
After tossing a fourth down incompletion, ending the Chiefs' chances of a comeback bid, Mahomes immediately slammed his helmet to the ground on the sideline and needed to be restrained by teammates while voicing his displeasure at the line-judge who flagged Toney.
Replay showed that Toney clearly lined up over the football, but after the game, a 20-17 loss, Mahomes was unrelenting in his criticism of the officials.
"It's tough to swallow," Mahomes told reporters after the game. "Not only from me, and football in general, to take away greatness like that, for a guy like Travis 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."
Contrary to Mahomes' assertion, Toney was lined up in the neutral zone, and perhaps even further offsides, which is a penalty, regardless of the situation in the game.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was in lockstep with his quarterback, and likely right behind him in line for an impending fine for criticizing the officials.
"A bit embarrassing in the National Football League for that to take place," Reid told reporters. "I didn't have a protractor out there, but a bit embarrassing."
This was at the moment the ball was snapped pic.twitter.com/LynhCj3lCU
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) December 11, 2023
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NFL officiating has come under fire this season, with many blaming a lack of consistency and questionable calls. However, Toney's foul was textbook, even if the Chiefs disagree, and even if it came in one of the game's most consequential moments.
"Ultimately, they are responsible for wherever they line up," referee Carl Cheffers told a pool reporter. "No warning is required, especially if they are lined up so far offsides where they're actually blocking our view of the ball. We would give them a warning if it was anywhere close, but this particular one is beyond a warning."
