The New England Patriots got a few tough breaks due to officiating mistakes in the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 14.
In the final moments of the third quarter, the officials called a Travis Kelce fumble dead, and said the tight end was down on the play. But Belichick challenged the play, which was ruled a fumble upon review. The problem was the officials ruled the play dead, and negated cornerback Stephon Gilmore’s return, which seemed likely to be a significant one — and perhaps even a touchdown.
But the Patriots got the ball at the spot of the fumble. They moved the ball downfield to the red zone, where N’Keal Harry had a 12-yard catch-and-run. The problem was that it was really a 15-yard touchdown. The officials called the play out of bounds at the 3-yard line. Because Belichick had used both of his challenges, he couldn’t get the officials to review it. So the Patriots had to take the play as it was. On the following plays, they couldn’t get into the end zone, and settled for a field goal.
The refs suck. Plain and simple. #Patriots pic.twitter.com/PTb7ZzqkuT
— Devon Clements (@DevclemNFL) December 9, 2019
Both plays seemed like a tough pill for Patriots fans to swallow. Here’s what New England fans and media members had to say on Twitter after the play.
Officials just missed ANOTHER call. N'Keal Harry was not out of bounds and scored a TD, but Belichick was out of challenges. This is unreal.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) December 9, 2019
It’s weird to see the officials screw the Pats. They blew that fumble dead. Harry just scored and they said he was out. I think the Chiefs were short on the first challenge as well. Welcome to the real world Pats fans
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) December 9, 2019
N'Keal Harry pretty obviously scored a TD but was ruled out of bounds, and the Patriots couldn't challenge because they're out of challenges, thanks to the officials also not recognizing the earlier fumble that could've been a TD. Pats settle for a field goal, trail 23-16.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) December 9, 2019
Tom Brady to N'Keal Harry for the touchdown.
Harry got in the game and scored. The refs of course don't call him in and they're out of challenges.
Those refs are a joke.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 9, 2019
Sure looks like N’Keal Harry stayed in bounds… pic.twitter.com/7smcOwJmjM
— Guy Boston Sports (@GuyBostonSports) December 9, 2019
ALL-TIME ROBBERY ON THE HARRY DIVE. HOW COULD TWO REFS STANDING RIGHT THERE MISS THAT HE OBVIOUSLY STAYED IN BOUNDS????
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 9, 2019
N'Keal Harry scores, but the refs call him out of bounds.
Pats out of challenges 😬😬😬 pic.twitter.com/cTbNuTsakg
— B/R Betting (@br_betting) December 9, 2019
What an absolute joke. Harry was 100% in bounds for that TD and now they had to waste another timeout and settle for a field goal. I’m not normally a “these refs suck” guy but these refs SUCK
— Steve Perrault (@Steve_Perrault) December 9, 2019
[vertical-gallery id=74890]