The Chiefs Pull Out A Win Despite The Refs’ Mistakes
Quentin Morris @quentincmorris
Kansas City Chiefs star defensive tackle Chris Jones was flagged for an egregious roughing the passer call. This call came less than 24 hours after Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were given a free first down in a key fourth down.
After the game, the head referee defended his call by saying Jones landed on Derrick Carr with his full body weight. The problems with this defense are threefold. One Jones put his left arm out to prevent all of his weight from falling on Carr. Two, Jones caused the fumble before he put him on the ground. This means Carr is no longer a passer and he is not given the same level of protection as a stand-up passer. Finally, Jones is a huge human being. What the ref is asking him to do is not possible. Jones addressed that after the game in a locker room press interview.
Defensive tackle Chris Jones forces a fumble, braces himself to not put weight on his on Derrick Carr, and was still called for roughing the passer.
“How should I tackle? How should I not roll on him,” Jones said. “I’m trying my best. I’m 325 pounds. What do you want me to do? What do you want me to do? I’m running full speed tryin to get to the quarterback. I hit the ball. What do you want me to do? I brace myself with my hands.”
After this call, the Raiders kept the ball and were able to kick a field goal and go up 20 to 10.
This call ignited the crowd at Arrowhead. The crowd booed the referee for at least half a quarter and let the referee crew know how they felt by chanting various definition chants.
At the end of the game head coach, Andy Reid said the crowd was a force in the game.
“Our crowd was tremendous tonight. Digging in for four quarters with us,” Reid said.
On top of that, the Chiefs came out to the tunnel on fire. The Chiefs put up two touchdowns in the third quarter. In fact, at one point the Chiefs scored on five straight possessions. A continuation of what some of the points scored in the second quarter.
Travis Kelce came out ready to play. Kelce had four receiving touchdowns, the most by a single player in a prime-time game since Randy Moss did it on Sunday night football against the Bill in 2007.
Next Gen stats reports that three of Kelce’s touchdowns came on five crossing routes. This is the most by any player on a single route in a single game over the last five years.
This means that not only was he producing but it confirms that despite running the same route his skill to find the soft spot in the zone defense continues to shine.
Despite his scoring production, he did not have many yards after that. He only put up 25 yards. The leading receiver for the Chiefs was Marquez Valdes-Scantling had 6 receptions and 90 yards. Mecole Hardman also had a good game. He had 4 receptions and 73 yards that included a couple of chunk plays. After that nobody had more than 33 yards.
The Chiefs struggled to get the running game going. Both tackles were allowing pressure throughout the first half but after some adjustments, it seemed to get better.
In the end, the Chiefs had another huge comeback win and will face the Buffalo Bills coming up on Sunday. A game that may end up being what defenses playoff seeding later in the year.
