NFL referee Clete Blakeman. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Coach discusses controversial calls in AFC Championship Game

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Jan 27, 2025 12:59 PM ET

Some may continue to suggest that the Kansas City Chiefs have received favorable treatment from officials after the AFC Championship Game.

On Sunday, the Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills 32-29, making their fifth Super Bowl in six years. However, two questionable calls may have flipped the momentum toward K.C.

On a 3rd-and-5 at Buffalo's 29-yard line late in the second quarter, officials ruled Chiefs rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy had joint possession with Bills safety Cole Bishop on quarterback Patrick Mahomes' heave. By rule, the offense keeps the ball. The call stood after Buffalo's challenge.

"It is simultaneous possession, but it boils down to simultaneous control, and it was not that," a coach told The Athletic's Mike Sando in a piece published Monday. "The Buffalo defender caught the ball between his two arms, and the Kansas City player only had one. The ball touching the ground becomes immaterial; there was not enough movement for loss of control. I think they took the easy way out, letting it stand."

WHAT A JOB BY WORTHY - Tony Romo pic.twitter.com/5fgXQpzQNv
— NFL on CBS (@NFLonCBS) January 27, 2025

Bills safety Damar Hamlin was flagged for defensive holding on Worthy's catch, but the ruling gave the Chiefs 21 more yards. Four plays later, Mahomes ran for a one-yard TD, giving K.C. a 21-10 lead.

After the Bills took a 22-21 lead, Buffalo QB Josh Allen attempted to convert on 4th-and-1 at K.C.'s 41-yard line early in the fourth quarter.

The down judge and line judge disagreed on whether Allen made the line to gain. The crew let the down judge spot the ball, and he ruled the QB short. After a replay review, the call stood.

"They go by who has the better look, and since the ball was closer to the bottom-of-the-screen hash, the other official deferred to him," the coach said. "But in this case, you couldn't see the ball, and there were no points of reference to project with precision where the ball would have been."

CBS analyst Gene Steratore would still disagree.

"I felt like [Allen] gained it by about a third of the football," the former referee said during the telecast.

The Chiefs go-ahead TD drive was set up by a ruling that Josh Allen did not get a Bills first down.

Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Gene Steratore react to the ruling.

"Wow." - Romo

"I felt like he gained it by about a third of the football..." -Steratore

"I agree." - Nantz ️ https://t.co/R4Xs0phM0P pic.twitter.com/8xvT1t1rdn
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 27, 2025

The Chiefs then had two scoring drives. Buffalo had one more opportunity late in the fourth quarter but turned it over on downs.

The Chiefs deserve credit for winning their 17th consecutive one-possession game. Still, both calls possibly affected the outcome.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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