Patrick Mahomes Goes Berserk on Sidelines as Chiefs Lose to Bills, Blames Referees

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes speaks at a news conference after an an NFL football game in Jacksonville, Fla., on Sept. 17, 2023. Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP Photo

Former NFL Most Valuable Player Patrick Mahomes and coach Andy Reid criticized referees after the Buffalo Bills upset the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, coming minutes after Mr. Mahomes appeared to be criticizing and going after a referee on the sideline.

The Chiefs quarterback was upset at the officiating crew after an offensive offsides call that wiped out a touchdown when Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce caught a pass from Mr. Mahomes and threw a rare backwards pass to receiver Kadarius Toney, who scored. That touchdown would have given the Chiefs a potential 24–20 lead over the Bills with just over a minute in regulation.

The referees called Mr. Toney for lining up with his right foot in the neutral zone, meaning that the play was called back. Instead of scoring the potential game-winning touchdown, the Chiefs received a five-yard-penalty to set up a second-and-15.

Ultimately, Kansas City ended up turning the ball over on downs before the Bills took over. As he returned to the sidelines, Mr. Mahomes, a two-time Super Bowl winner, appeared to slam his helmet in frustration.

Following the conclusion of the game, Mr. Mahomes appeared to angrily approach a referee before members of his team held him back. It’s not clear what he said.

“It’s tough to swallow,” Mr. Mahomes told reporters after Sunday’s game. “Not only from me, and football in general, to take away greatness like that, for a guy like Travis [Kelce] to make a play like that, you want to see the guys on the field decide the game.”

He added: “They’re human. They make mistakes.”

“But every week, we’re talking about something ... it’s the call. Just in that moment. Not for myself. To have a flag change the outcome of the game. I’ve never had offensive offsides called. If it does, they warn you. There wasn’t a warning the entire game. And then you make a call like that in the final minute? Another game, we’re talking about the refs. It’s not what we want for the NFL. It’s not what we want for football.”

And Mr. Reid, Kansas City Chiefs head coach, also expressed displeasure with the call. “Normally I get a warning before that’s called,” Mr. Reid said, reported Kansas City Star. “A bit embarrassing for the National Football League for that to take place.”

But a referee, Carl Cheffers, said that Mr. Toney committed an error that warranted the penalty.

“It’s one of those things we don’t want to be overly technical on, but when in his alignment he’s lined up over the ball, that’s something that we are going to call as offensive offside,” Mr. Cheffers told a pool reporter after the game.

He also said that Mr. Toney’s alignment in the neutral zone was too egregious not to call an offsides penalty.

“Ultimately, if they look for alignment advice, certainly we are going to give it to them,“ he said, according to reports. Generally, ”we would give them some sort of warning if it was anywhere close, but this particular one is beyond a warning,” the referee said.

The Chiefs lost to Buffalo 20–17, falling to 8–5. With the loss, the Chiefs, who still have the best record in the AFC West, are No. 3 in the AFC. The Bills, meanwhile, improved to 7–6 and are still in playoff contention.

Mr. Mahomes finished 25 of 43 with 271 passing yards, a touchdown pass, and an interception. Mr. Kelce had six catches for 83 yards, while wideout Rashee Rice had seven catches for 72 yards and a touchdown.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen was 23 of 42 for 233 passing yards and a touchdown. Buffalo running back James Cook made the touchdown-winning catch.