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There are plenty of NFL fans who’ve convinced themselves the Chiefs have been the beneficiary of a disproportionate number of calls in their favor courtesy of questionable officiating, and they probably won’t be thrilled by the explanation offered by a referee who shed light on the decision not to call pass interference during a key play toward the end of Kansas City’s win over the Falcons.
The Atlanta Falcons weren’t expected to be major contenders heading into the 2024 NFL season, and they got off to a rough start with a loss to the Steelers in Week 1. However, they bounced back with a surprising victory over the Eagles, and it looked like they had a very real shot at beating the Kansas City Chiefs when the two teams met at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday.
Kirk Cousins and Co. headed into the locker room with a one-point lead at halftime, and while the Chiefs were able to erase that deficit by jumping out to a 22-14 lead near the end of the third quarter, the Falcons staged a lengthy drive in the fourth that led to them knocking on Kansas City’s door.
There was a little over four minutes remaining in the contest when Cousins attempted to connect with Kyle Pitts on 3rd-and-5, but the six-yard touchdown attempt was ruled incomplete even though Chiefs safety Bryan Cooks appeared to commit a textbook pass interference penalty while breaking up the play.
The Falcons failed to convert on the subsequent fourth down, but they were able to get one last shot after forcing the Chiefs to punt on the next possession. Cousins was able to march Atlanta down to the red zone, but Kansas City put things away with a clutch stop on 4th-and-1 with a little under a minute to go.
Falcons fans were understandably salty about the no-call that deprived them of a fresh set of downs with the ball on the goal line, and referee Tra Blake didn’t really do much to clear the air when he justified the lack of a flag by saying the officials simply weren’t able to view the play from an angle that allowed them to see what seemed to be a pretty clear-cut pass interference violation.
Referee Tra Blake to pool reporter @DOrlandoAJC on the no-call for pass interference on the #Falcons’ fourth-quarter pass to Kyle Pitts last night: “From the angle that they had at the time, they did not feel that there was a foul committed.” pic.twitter.com/PjXit4iyn3
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 23, 2024
He also stressed there was nothing that could be done after the initial call thanks to the failed replay experiment that lasted a grand total of one season before being shelved.
There may be no simple solution, but NFL officiating has once again left a lot to be desired.