The Cincinnati Bengals and their fans will be feeling somewhat robbed this Monday following their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.
Several controversial officiating decisions went against them, though they rid themselves of an opportunity to prolong the contest with a silly foul.
Say what you will about that extra third down in the fourth quarter and the penalty incurred by Joseph Ossai’s shove on Patrick Mahomes. But the refs were correct on both calls. Other ones? Maybe not so much.
One particular play in the third quarter begs some questioning. The Chiefs were staring at a fourth and inches in the red zone when the refs ruled Marquez Valdes-Scantling just short of a first down after he reached out to gain some extra inches. The Chiefs challenged the ruling and it went in their favor as they were presented a new set of downs that resulted in a touchdown and a 20-13 lead.
However, the official responsible for overturning the original decision ignored a key rule as it pertains to forward progress. According to the rules, the distance should not be awarded if the ball carrier pulls it back on his own after a reach.
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It’s likely that the Chiefs would have gone for it on fourth down and the chances of them getting the first down would have been a lot higher than the chances of them not. But the rules are the rules, innit?
