Upon further review, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said wide receiver Kadarius Toney failed to check with the side judge to confirm he was lined up correctly and the corresponding flag cost Kansas City the go-ahead score on Sunday.
The aftermath of taking points off the board brought flames of criticism from quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Reid following the loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Reid said Monday the call was not the reason the Chiefs lost, adding the team has to get lined up right.
“Normally he looks over to the sideline (official) and just gets an OK,” Reid said Monday. “On that one, he just happened not to. That would be the coaching point. Just to make sure you are aligned. Listen, he was two inches or an inch from being legal.
“You can argue both sides. It happens like that. I guess the league is trying to clean that up from what I heard from one of the broadcasters last night.”
Reid termed the call “a bit embarrassing” on Sunday because he was not given what he said was the usual warning from the lead official to the head coach about alignment issues, including offensive offsides.
Mahomes ripped officials to anyone who would listen, including Bills quarterback Josh Allen during their postgame handshake on the field.
“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,” said Mahomes.
He had celebrated what the Chiefs thought was a go-ahead, 49-yard score with 1:12 left in the game. Mahomes hit tight end Travis Kelce for a big gain and Kelce threw a legal overhand lateral to Toney. Toney, who caught the ball at the Bills’ 25, sprinted into the end zone before the Chiefs noticed the flag dropped at the line of scrimmage for offensive offsides.
The TD would’ve given the Chiefs a 23-20 lead pending the extra point.
Reid said postgame Sunday, “I’ve been in the league for a long time. Haven’t had one like that.”
–Field Level Media