Patrick Mahomes was irate on the sidelines when the Kansas City Chiefs’ final drive ended with an incomplete pass as he appeared to be upset with the officiating a few moments before the game ended.
Mahomes went off on officials on the sideline after his drive ended. He was angry over the offensive offsides call on Kadarius Toney that thwarted a touchdown and a clever lateral play from Travis Kelce to the speedy wide receiver.
A video captured Mahomes still seeing red as he spoke to Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen on the field. The audio was captured by WROC-TV.
Patrick Mahomes, #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs, reacts with Josh Allen, #17 of the Buffalo Bills, after the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 10, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
“Wildest f—ing call I’ve ever seen,” Mahomes was heard saying. “Offensive offsides on that play, man. F—ing terrible.”
Mahomes finished with 271 passing yards with a touchdown pass and an interception. He was sacked only once. Kelce led the team in receiving with six catches for 83 yards.
The star quarterback elaborated on his frustrations with officials after the game.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, #15, gestures to an official after a play against the Buffalo Bills during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, Dec. 10, 2023. (Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports)
“It’s tough to swallow,” he said. “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. 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.”
Referee Carl Cheffers defended the call.
“It’s one of those things we don’t want to be overly technical on, but when in his alignment he’s lined up over the ball, that’s something that we are going to call as offensive offside,” he told pool reporter Matt Derrick. “So that’s what the down judge saw. He saw that the alignment was over the ball and that’s what he ruled on the field. That’s what he called.”
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid speaks during a news conference following an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023, in Kansas City, Missouri. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Cheffers differed on coach Andy Reid’s suggestion that he usually gets a warning about alignment before a penalty flag is thrown.
“Yes, ultimately, if they looked for alignment advice, certainly we are going to give it to them,” Cheffers said. “But ultimately, they are responsible for wherever they line up. And, certainly, no warning is required, especially if they are lined up so far offsides where they’re actually blocking our view of the ball. So, we would give them some sort of a warning if it was anywhere close, but this particular one is beyond a warning.”
He added that he was not sure whether there were warnings given during the game.
“But again, if it’s egregious enough, it would be beyond a warning. So really regardless of whether or not he was warned at other times during the day, if it was an egregious alignment to where he was over the ball – whether he had warnings or not – it would still be a foul.”
