The Chiefs left Denver with a 28-24 loss, but the first half was where the frustration really piled up.
Kansas City was hit with eight penalties for 75 yards before halftime, and four of those flags gave the Broncos a first down. According to The Associated Press’ Josh Dubow, it was only the fourth time since Andy Reid took over as head coach that the Chiefs had been whistled for at least eight penalties and 75 yards in the first half of a game. In the previous three, Kansas City won only once.
The officiating chatter didn’t stop with the penalty count. One of the strangest moments came on a third-and-6 from the Chiefs’ 36-yard line, when Patrick Mahomes threw a short pass to rookie Emmett Johnson that was first marked as a 4-yard gain.
A flag came in, and the officials spent a long stretch sorting out an illegal man downfield call. Denver declined the penalty, which set up fourth-and-2, and Kansas City initially sent out the punt unit.
Then the ball was respotted late, and the new spot appeared to leave the Chiefs with less than a yard to go. Matt Araiza still punted, and during the commercial break, Reid was seen giving the officials an earful over the late change, according to CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson.
The questionable calls started early. In the first quarter, linebacker Jack Cochrane was flagged after lowering his helmet on a tackle just before a Broncos running back lowered his own head. There was helmet-to-helmet contact, but only because of the Denver player.
A second-quarter holding call on Trey Smith also drew immediate pushback. CBS Sports analyst J.J. Watt didn’t like it on the broadcast.
“I’ll be honest, I don’t see much of a hold there,” Watt said on the telecast. “I can see why it looked like a hold to the referee, but I do not think there was much of a hold there, and I’m a defensive lineman.”
Later in the period, Drue Tranquill was flagged for facemask, even though Denver’s Jonah Coleman had his hand on Tranquill’s facemask.
And then came the one that had plenty of Chiefs fans fuming: a false start call on what would have been a game-winning touchdown. Brittany Mahomes was among those who believed the flag was wrong.
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