A few days ago, when head coach Andy Reid was forced to make a last-minute adjustment, he took an unprecedented risk. You see, Reid had lost his starting left tackle, Josh Simmons, to an injury. With no options left, Reid did something he had never done in 13 years as the Chiefs’ head coach.
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He started a rookie, an undrafted free agent at that, in Kahlil Benson. Sending a UDFA to protect Patrick Mahomes, who had just come back from nursing an injury, is one thing. But starting one who hadn’t played at left tackle since he was in high school? It was a pure gamble. Fortunately for the Chiefs Kingdom, it was one that paid off.
Benson played through the pass rushes as if he had been doing so for years. But during the rookie’s breakout night, he caused a moment that has sparked up discussion yet again. And the person who spotted his error happens to be related to another Kansas City Chiefs player, one who’s made the same mistake once before!
Jason Kelce has a sharp eye for what happens up front, and he wasn’t about to let this one go unnoticed. During the Kansas City Chiefs clash with the Denver Broncos, Benson drew contact that Kelce felt should have ended in a flag, but didn’t. The former All-Pro center didn’t hold back, calling out the officiating crew directly.
“The NFL posting a clear and obvious penalty, and then giving the (hands) emoji is pretty hilarious,” Kelce posted on X.
Jason was talking about a moment late in the fourth quarter, when rookie Emmett Johnson carried the ball on a third and three. The Broncos line held firm and put Johnson off balance. Just as he was about to tip over shy of the line to gain, Benson appeared to drag Johnson through.
With just three minutes left on the clock, the subsequent first down was enough for Kansas City to secure the win. But according to Jason, there should have been a penalty.
And he’s not wrong here. Pulling a runner is illegal; NFL Rule 12-1-4 bans players from grabbing, pulling, or lifting a ball carrier in any direction. Back in 2005, the league loosened things up a bit by allowing pushing, which used to be banned too. But pulling and carrying never got that same pass.
The NFL’s own officiating department addressed this exact scenario back in Week 8 of the 2022 season. “This is not a foul, because what he is doing is pushing the runner. Players are allowed to push, but they are not allowed to encircle and pull to assist the runner.”
But if that was the case, why did the Chiefs not get penalized for it? It’s for one interesting reason, and Jason Kelce is someone who might already know of it.
You see, a few years ago, when Kelce played as the center for the Philadelphia Eagles, he pulled a similar move. Jason dragged running back Kenneth Gainwell forward, on a drive that would later tie the game at 7-7. Just as the officials didn’t throw the flag for Benson, they didn’t do so for Kelce either. Amazon’s rules analyst, former NFL referee Terry McAulay, also acknowledged that it should have been flagged.
And that was the case during the 2024 playoffs as well. Buffalo Bills O’Cyrus Torrence did something similar when he hauled James Cook into the endzone without drawing a penalty.
According to Football Zebras (reported in 2019), in assistance with Quirky Research, nobody can find a single instance of this penalty actually being called since a Chiefs-Bills divisional playoff game way back in 1991.
In any case, while Benson was the most recent addition to the list of players who avoided the pulling penalty, there were plenty of referee call discussions around the divisional clash. Take Mahomes’ opening touchdown. His first attempt, a five-yard scramble, got wiped out by holding, sending Kansas City back to the 15.
He punched it in again on the next snap, diving through two defenders for the score. Except replay suggested Travis Kelce got away with another hold on that very play, one that arguably should have sent the Chiefs packing to the 25 for a third attempt.
Denver’s Pat Bryant got hit with two holding calls of his own, and Peyton Manning wasn’t shy about it on the ManningCast, calling one of them a weak call.
None of these moments changed the outcome of Kansas City’s 31-10 win. But between the missed calls and the inconsistent flags, it’s fair to wonder if the whistle was a little uneven all night.
As for Benson, even though he may have escaped the consequences of his rule violation, it was still a solid night for the young rookie. On 69 snaps, he didn’t allow a single snap, while limiting to just three pressures.