Sometimes, it’s nice to let off steam and vent out frustrations. Unfortunately in the NFL, that gets you in trouble.
The NFL fined Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and star quarterback Patrick Mahomes on Saturday for their critical comments on the controversial officiating at the end of last Sunday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.
Reid received a $100,000 fine for publicly criticizing the officials, while Mahomes’ $50,000 fine was due to unsportsmanlike conduct for abusive, threatening or insulting language to officials, plus publicly criticizing the referees, per Rapoport.
Both Reid and Mahomes spoke out against an offsides call on wide receiver Kadarius Toney late in the fourth quarter, with Reid calling it “a bit embarrassing” for the NFL.
The penalty wiped out what would have been a fantastic go-ahead touchdown by Toney off a lateral from tight end Travis Kelce near the end of the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to Buffalo. The loss kept Buffalo in the playoff hunt, while Kansas City’s division lead shrunk to a mere one game.
The Chiefs have now also dropped three of their past four games and two in a row.
According to Victoria Hernandez of USA Today, referee and crew chief Carl Cheffers spoke to a pool reporter after the game and noted that no warning is required if where a player lines up is so “egregious” that it blocks the officials’ view of the ball, which was the case with Toney.
A lot of direct criticism was directed at the fact that there was no warning towards Toney.

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