Andy Reid questioned the officiating after Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos, pointing to a late penalty that shifted momentum toward Denver. A late penalty flag wiped out a key Kansas City Chiefs play and shifted momentum toward Denver, who held on for the win. Asked about the call afterward, the Chiefs head coach said he did not see the infraction himself, but made clear he disagreed with how the officials handled it.
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“Andy Reid: ‘I thought the guys battled like crazy. We had over 100 yards in penalties. We’ve got to take care of that.” On the false start: “I didn’t see it. I saw him move his head, but I didn’t see [a false start].’” Nate Taylor posted on X.
Through three quarters, Kansas City held a 24-13 lead over Denver. Kansas City did not score, while Denver put up 15 points, including a touchdown and a two-point conversion, to win 28-24.
Kansas City had one last shot to steal the game. Four seconds remained, the ball sat at the Denver 1-yard line, and it was fourth and goal. Then J. Moore jumped early, drawing a flag. Before the snap, KC’s J. Moore was flagged for a false start, meaning he moved before the ball was snapped. The false start wiped out the play, cost the Chiefs five yards, and sent them back to the Denver 6 to try again.
That next snap went badly. Patrick Mahomes was brought down at the Denver 12 by M. Roach, a six-yard loss, and with the clock nearly empty, that was that. The Broncos hung on for the win.
Moore had also been flagged earlier in the fourth quarter, that time for an ineligible downfield pass. Denver turned the penalty down because the play had already worked in their favor.
Flags were a theme all day. The Chiefs were penalized eight times for 75 yards, and four of those penalties handed Denver a fresh set of downs. Altogether, the Chiefs were flagged 11 times for 105 yards, yet they still had a shot on fourth and 6.
According to the Associated Press’ Josh Dubow, it was only the fourth time under Andy Reid that Kansas City had racked up eight or more penalties for 75 or more yards in the first half of a game.
The previous three times, the Chiefs managed just one win. This one went the other way too, with Kansas City falling 28-24 to the Broncos.
The win moved Denver ahead of Kansas City and into first place in the AFC West. It was a second straight loss for the Chiefs, who had opened the season with five straight wins.