“Not Saying the Refs are on Their Side”: Chad Johnson & Shannon Sharpe Reflect on Chiefs Getting Rescued by “Football Gods”

The Kansas City Chiefs escaped with a victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday afternoon. Las Vegas, already in game-winning field goal range, butchered their final offensive snap and allowed Kansas City to jump on the loose ball, which secured the win for Mahomes’ army.

The Chiefs’ latest magic act improved their record to 11-1 and made them the first team to clinch a playoff spot. The victory also was their 14th consecutive triumph in one-possession games, the longest such streak in NFL history.

On the latest episode of their Nightcap Show, Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson discussed Kansas City’s propensity to come out on top of their high-thrilling contests. Some non-Chiefs supporters chalk a number of those victories up to favorable officiating. Johnson didn’t entirely dismiss that possibility but took a different route in his thoughts.

“This is something that’s been going on for the Chiefs for the past three years… I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I’m not saying the refs are on their side. But if luck has anything to do with anything, they are the team that is being blessed by the football Gods, on the receiving end of it, game after game… for some reason, everything seems to go in their favor.”

Kansas City has abnormally benefited from whistles that could go either way in the past. The most obvious example comes from the treatment of right tackle Jawaan Taylor, who frequently rocks in his stance prior to the ball being snapped to Mahomes. However, Friday’s deciding play had nothing to do with the officials.

Las Vegas Raiders’ costly blunder was self-inflicted

As analyst Kirk Herbstreit noted on Amazon’s broadcast, Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell indicated he was ready for the ball to be hiked moments before it was sent his way. O’Connell did so despite his receivers being set.

That last aspect led him to look over to his left as the ball was snapped. Once it clanged off his chest, it was batted around and recovered by the Chiefs. When recapping the play, Sharpe gave the impression O’Connell deserved the bulk of the blame for the error.

“He clapped his hands. But when he did, he paused… that’s not what the right guard was looking back at. He claps his hand, the guard slaps the center… the center doesn’t know anything about that. He’s trusting you, and he’s trusting his guard. The guard swipes his hand down, that lets the center know the quarterback is ready for the ball.”

It’s an unfortunate mistake for the 2023 fourth-round pick, who carried Las Vegas back from a double-digit second-half deficit in one of the league’s most raucous environments. His 58-yard scoring strike to Tre Tucker was the best throw of the afternoon.

In the end, it was all for naught. The Raiders fell to 2-10 with the defeat. They face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 14.