The Kansas City Chiefs scored a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 32-29 AFC Championship Game win against the Buffalo Bills after getting the ball back on a controversial fourth-down call.
The Chiefs forced a turnover on downs after officials ruled, following a replay review, that Kansas City stopped Bills quarterback Josh Allen short of the line on a fourth-and-short quarterback dive.
Driving with a one-point lead into Kansas City territory, Allen appeared to have gained the yard he needed for the first down with one line judge seemingly running to spot the ball at the Kansas City 40-yard-line. However the down judge ran to spot the ball short of the 40 and the ball was ultimately spotted at the Chiefs’ 41-yard-line.
I mean. It’s clearly a first down. Allen’s 1 over the line, 7 is on it. pic.twitter.com/fNYiEIypxp
— BucciOT.Com (@Buccigross) January 27, 2025
After review, the ruling stood as called, and Kansas City took over on downs. The Chiefs went on a five-play, 59-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown run by Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to retake the lead, putting the Chiefs up 29-22 with 10:14 left to play.
The play spurred much discussion on social media sites as its become common place for fans to accuse Kansas City of receiving favorable calls from officials.
Awful call by the refs, clear first down… which then leads to a TD by the Chiefs. Like clockwork.
— Matt Leinart (@MattLeinartQB) January 27, 2025
Following the divisional round, several Houston Texans hinted or directly suggested that was the case as the Chiefs benefited from controversial calls during their matchup.
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“We knew it was going to be us versus the refs going into this game,” Texans defensive end Will Anderson said during his postgame interview. The NFL fined Anderson $25,ooo for the comment.
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(Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
