Several controversial calls (and no calls) have been a key talking point across the football world over the past 24 hours.
The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 at Arrowhead to reach their third Super Bowl in four years. Harrison Butker kicked the game-winning field goal in the waning seconds following a Patrick Mahomes run which also drew a 15-yard penalty from Joseph Ossai, who hit the Kansas City quarterback after he ran out of bounds.
Many fans and NFL pundits have suggested that that Chiefs’ offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. got away with a hold on Trey Hendrickson during Mahomes’ scramble that drew the penalty from Ossai.
But The Athletic’s Nate Tice brought up an interesting rule called the “rip move” which might explain why officials didn’t flag Brown Jr. on the play. Tice explained the rip move on Twitter.
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Not that this explanation will make Bengals fans feel better. There were several other controversial officiating miscues throughout the game that hurt the Bengals, including the “Intentional Grounding” call on Joe Burrow during Cincinnati’s final drive.
Losing a championship game on a last second field goal is among the most painful ways to see your season end. The Bengals were one or two bounces away from winning a second straight AFC Championship crown, but they’ll instead have to watch the Chiefs go up against the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 12.
