It’s easy and lazy to blame the officials when something goes wrong, but the New England Patriots had reason to be frustrated with the refs during Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.
Officiating mistakes took two touchdowns off the board for New England.
It started late in the third quarter when Travis Kelce appeared — at least to the officials — to pick up a first down with the ball coming out after the tackle. While the officials ruled that Kelce was down by contact, Stephon Gilmore picked up the ball and had a favorable path to a scoop-and-score touchdown (assuming the blocking held up).
Still, officials are instructed to let the play unfold if it’s close, but referee Jerome Boger’s crew elected to blow the play dead right away. They shouldn’t have.
Bill Belichick challenged the call as it was clear that Kelce fumbled before he was down by contact. So while the Patriots received possession, they had a possible touchdown completely wiped away by the whistle. It also forced Belichick to burn his final challenge — having already lost his first challenge of the game.
That would almost immediately come back to bite the Patriots.
On the ensuing possession, rookie receiver N’Keal Harry walked a tightrope down the sideline and reached for the end zone for what should have been a Patriots touchdown. The officials, though, ruled that Harry had stepped out of bounds, but replays would show that Harry clearly remained in play.
The Patriots couldn’t challenge the play and couldn’t find the end zone on the subsequent three plays. They had to settle for a field goal to cut the deficit to seven points.
They can blame that third-quarter whistle for all of it. The missed calls changed the game.
