The Kansas City Chiefs are headed to Super Bowl 58… But not without some controversy.
It seems like every time Patrick Mahomes and company take the field, there’s some sort of controversial officiating decision that captures headlines, and Sunday’s AFC Championship Game between the Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens was no different.
While the Chiefs were clearly the better team on this occasion and deserved to get the win, they did get a little added help from the officials on a key fourth quarter play.
With 2:45 remaining and the Ravens facing a 3rd & 5 from the Kansas City 25-yard-line, Lamar Jackson looked Isaiah Likely’s way, but the young tight end appeared to be dragged down by a Chiefs defender.
It was a pretty blatant hold that would have given the Ravens a first down, but it somehow went uncalled.
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NFL fans couldn’t help but notice how similar to the play that resulted in a holding penalty against the Eagles’ James Bradberry during last year’s Super Bowl.
In the case of Super Bowl 57, that call by the officials all but sealed the victory for the Chiefs, who were awarded a first down and enough yardage to set themselves up for an easy game-winning field goal as time expired.
As for the missed call in yesterday’s game, it forced the Ravens to kick a field goal to cut the lead to 17-10 with just over two minutes remaining. Of course, Baltimore still needed another score if they were going to pull off the comeback, and they never received the ball after kicking it away to the Chiefs. So the no-call didn’t end up having as big of an effect on the outcome as some may have thought it would.
But it was still a pretty egregious missed call that has the people talking. And they all seem to be saying the same thing:
Rigged or not, the Chiefs will now travel to Las Vegas in two weeks’ time to take on the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 58.
