The Kansas City Chiefs secured their place in their third straight Super Bowl on Sunday night after defeating the Buffalo Bills, but their victory wasn’t without controversy in the game’s final quarter.
In the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs pulled ahead with a decisive touchdown, taking a 29-21 lead over the Bills.
Their scoring drive began with excellent field position, thanks to a key fourth-down stop. However, one well-known rules analyst believes the Chiefs may not have actually made the stop.
During the pivotal play, Bills quarterback Josh Allen attempted a quarterback sneak to convert on fourth down. The referees on the field offered conflicting spots—one indicating the Bills achieved the first down and the other marking them just short.
Ultimately, the ruling on the field deemed the Bills short, and a subsequent replay review upheld the call. However, CBS Sports rules analyst Gene Steretore disagreed, arguing the Bills should have been awarded the first down.
“I felt like he gained it by about a third of a football,” Steretore said during the broadcast. “That was just my take on the play. Tough, tough play.”
Instead, the Chiefs took over at midfield, quickly capitalized with a touchdown, and never looked back, sealing their victory and advancing to the Super Bowl.
Needless to say, this apparent mistake from the referees led to a lot of reactions from fans.
“Terrible rigged NFL call. We need to boycott the rigged superbowl at this rate!” one fan wrote on X.
“Same thing different year. Close game. Refs make a KC favored call. Flips the game on its head. Shocker,” someone else added.
“If this is going to be the way it is with the NFL, it’s time to quit watching. Such calls render games meaningless,” another person wrote.
“Was there any doubt that this would happen?” someone else said.
“Can’t beat the refs man,” another person added.
The Chiefs now have the chance to chase history by competing for an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl title.
