Jim Nantz, Kevin Harlan address phantom flag mystery from AFC Championship

Viewers watching this past Sunday's AFC Championship Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills were left confused when the "flag" graphic popped up on the screen following what became Buffalo's final offensive play of the contest even though no penalty had been called. 

CBS Sports' Jim Nantz and Westwood One Radio's Kevin Harlan both said during broadcasts of the game that a flag had been thrown. They later spoke with Sports Illustrated's Jimmy Traina about what some have deemed to be a controversial moment. 

"There’s a spotter that works in coordination with the broadcast team," Nantz explained. "I’m just taking what information is passed along. I’m scanning the field and for the life of me I can’t find a flag. But the graphic is up and I’m told, which [is] just part of the chain of communication, I’m told there’s a flag. The first thing you do when you’re told that is you scan the field and identify for your own edification. What are they looking at? Where did this take place? I couldn’t find it."

The play in question involved Bills quarterback Josh Allen throwing a fourth-down prayer of a pass toward tight end Dalton Kincaid when Buffalo trailed Kansas City by three points with under two minutes remaining in regulation. Some fans posting on social media either jokingly or seriously suggested a flag was thrown "in case Kincaid caught it" so that the league could ensure the Chiefs would advance to a Super Bowl LIX showdown versus the Philadelphia Eagles. As Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio pointed out, though, it's likely a spotter mistook a yellow shoe or yellow glove for a flag. 

"When I’m doing the game for CBS, the officiating booth in the stadium will tell our truck immediately if there’s a flag," Harlan told Traina. "...So, naturally when I see it come up on our CBS scorebug at the bottom of the screen, I said 'flag.' There are so many times a flag is thrown in the four corners of the field, you aren’t even looking there, but it’s thrown 20 yards downfield or five yards in the back of the line of scrimmage. A lot of times you scan it, but a lot of times you don’t see it. Even when we’re doing TV, you don’t see the flag. So, I have relied on TV when I’m doing CBS that the word coming from the officiating booth to our truck to me in the booth says a flag is down. Even if I don’t see it, I trust that process."

Buffalo supporters and other football fans who found themselves rooting for the Bills this past Sunday may forever be convinced that the league always wanted the Chiefs to play in this year's Super Bowl for reasons that may or may not be related to the fact that Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce is dating entertainment superstar Taylor Swift. Such discussions can be fun during what otherwise is often a boring week on the sports calendar, but it seems in this instance that a spotter simply made a mistake.