The refs missed at least one big pass interference call, perhaps two, in the Green Bay Packers win over the Kansas City Chiefs on “Sunday Night Football” that could have turned the tide of the game.
Green Bay came away with the 27-19 win, but it wasn’t without controversy as the officials missed at least one penalty against the Packers on the Chiefs’ final drive of the game.
It started with what looked to be a blatant pass interference committed by Carrington Valentine on Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Valentine very clearly obstructed Valdes-Scantling’s ability to make what would have been a massive catch near the Packers’ 5-yard line with less than a minute left in the game.
“The first 59 minutes were really well officiated, we lost something at the end,” NBC Sports rule analyst Terry McAulay said during the broadcast. “This is an obvious defensive pass interference. You simply can’t play through the receiver’s back before the ball gets there. He does exactly that. He plays right through his back. Has to be a foul. should have been called.”
The second potentially missed call came on the last play of the game.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes launched a hail mary in a last-ditch effort to keep Kansas City’s chances of winning alive.
The deep throw reached the end zone but in the pile of bodies, the ball was tipped and dropped to the ground.
However, upon further inspection, it appeared as though Travis Kelce had been pushed in the back before the ball even reached the end zone for a potential pass interference.
McAulay again said it was a missed call by the officials.
“There was [a push], and generally there’s a lot of bodies banging, everybody’s playing the ball, there’s not a foul when that happens,” he explained. “When you have a two-handed shove in the back, it’s overt. You see Kelce lurch forward. It jumped out at me on the live feed. He wasn’t just jumping forward. The ball’s going behind him. He’s going forward.
“It had to be the shove that sent him that direction. I think, just like any other pass play, this is a foul for defensive pass interference.”
Following the late-thriller game, Mahomes admitted he disagree with the officials’ decision.
“At the end of the game, they let the guys play. I’m about that,” said Mahomes, according to Sports Illustrated.
“If I get the ball out there, then he scores a touchdown,” he added. “That’s what I’m saying. You don’t want flags, man. I gotta make the throw. If I make the throw, then I wouldn’t be wanting a flag.”
Kelce agreed, saying “We can’t blame this thing on anyone but ourselves.”
Those two were not the only questionable decisions by the officials on the final drive.
Packers fans were irate when Jonathan Owens was called for unnecessary roughness for a hit on Mahomes.
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