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The Kansas City Chiefs took down the Atlanta Falcons in primetime action on Sunday night to improve to 3-0 on the season. Officiating was once again a storyline after the game.
It seemed the Chiefs got away with a defensive pass interference call late in the contest that could’ve set Atlanta up at the one-yard line. Instead, no flag was thrown, and the Falcons turned the ball over.
The play came with about four minutes left in the game and Kansas City leading by five points. Kirk Cousins was able to move his team down the field 83 yards and was looking to take a late lead on a touchdown shot to the endzone.
The pass to Kyle Pitts fell incomplete, but there appeared to be clear contact before the ball’s arrival.
Officials missed it, and the Falcons turned the ball over inside the 10-yard line on the next play.
“Should’ve been a penalty…” -Cris Collinsworth #KCvsATL pic.twitter.com/Gh4M397beL
— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) September 23, 2024
“Contact well before,” said broadcast team member Cris Collinsworth. “No question that should’ve been a penalty.”
A pass interference call would’ve set Atlanta up with a fresh set of downs on the one-yard line. Instead, the Chiefs would burn more clock before eventually leaving with a 22-17 win.
Unfortunately, it’s not the first time a Kansas City win has been overshadowed by officiating.
Just last week, the Chiefs were on the other side of a defensive pass interference play. In that case, Cincinnati was flagged for a penalty on a 4th-and-6 play, which gave Patrick Mahomes and Co. a first down on their way to an eventual game-winning field goal.
It looked eerily similar to what was seen last night!
Spot the difference.
Last week refs threw a flag cause the Bengals player got there early.
This week they didn’t throw a flag cause ???
#KCvsATL pic.twitter.com/KqiZFSigF9
— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) September 23, 2024
In one case, a flag was thrown. In the other, no penalty was called. Whether you believe the plays were worthy of a flag or not, they should’ve both had the same outcome.
It just so turns out that Kansas City benefitted from both. It won’t do much to quiet the narrative of officials looking out for the Chiefs on Sundays.