When tasked with playing the two-time defending Super Bowl champions, the Falcons didn’t back down. Even though the team came up short in Sunday’s 22-17 loss to the Chiefs, questionable officiating was the top headline after the game.
Kansas City got away with an obvious pass interference penalty during a red-zone pass to Kyle Pitts which would have given the Falcons the ball at the one-yard line with a fresh set of downs.
However, that didn’t happen and Atlanta was instead forced into a fourth-down scenario, in which the team came up short. The Falcons would have one more offensive possession after the fact, and in very similar territory, but they couldn’t take advantage.
The head official for Sunday night’s matchup, Tra Blake, said after the game that it came down to the referee closest to the play and he didn’t see any interference.
“That is a real-time call that officials have to make a judgment on. From the angle that they had at the time, they did not feel that there was a foul committed,” stated Blake to D’Orlando Ledbetter.
Referee Tra Blake to pool reporter @DOrlandoAJC on the no-call for pass interference on the #Falcons’ fourth-quarter pass to Kyle Pitts last night: “From the angle that they had at the time, they did not feel that there was a foul committed.” pic.twitter.com/PjXit4iyn3
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 23, 2024
It’s important to consider that pass interference calls are snap judgement calls and the officials aren’t afforded the vantage points that fans have when seeing missed calls. Their line of sight is entirely different than fans on TV and in the stadium.
Pass interference hasn’t been reviewable for years now, and when it was, it was rarely overturned, so it’s unlikely that would’ve changed for this scenario as well.
“That’s a real-time judgment call for us, yes. We do the best we can to make that decision,” concluded Blake.
[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1360]