The Kansas City Chiefs have had a nightmare morning after the controversial finish to Sunday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills. The comments following the game were emotional from quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid concerning the officiating.
Reid addressed his comments from Sunday night regarding the referees calling the offsides penalty and more during his Monday Zoom press conference.
“I know what I said about the officials yesterday or insinuated about the officials,” Reid explained. “There are no excuses for this; that’s not what I’m saying. I’ve always had a good working relationship with these guys. And that’s the important part. So they know when they tell me something with a guy that I’m gonna go address with a guy like right now. And make sure that it gets changed when you’re talking about inches, you know, those types of things. And those those happen in the game.”
The NFL is reportedly investigating the comments from Reid and Mahomes during their post-game press conferences, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rappaport.
#Chiefs coach Andy Reid called the officiating, "A bit embarrassing." QB Patrick Mahomes said of the refs, "Every week, we’re talking about something."
There is a long-standing policy against questioning the integrity of the refs. These will be reviewed, sources say.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 11, 2023
“I’ve been doing this for a long time. So this isn’t an excuse or a blame on the officials for blowing the game. That’s not what it is. But it’s a working relationship,” said Reid. “That part is so important in this thing. And so because you can see it on both sides, whether it’s a defensive end lining up in the neutral zone at times, or that you give the head coach a heads up, and then in our case, we tell them. Listen, you were warned. And so that’s how it’s worked over the years. That’s what I was really trying to get across.”
The Chiefs could face disciplinary action from the league if they deem their comments unprofessional towards the officials. The events of Sunday night could be a turning point in either direction for the defending champions as the season winds down.