Nowadays, it’s unlikely to see the Chiefs play a game without facing any controversy involving the referees. After allegations of bad calls in the team’s games against the Ravens and the Bengals, it was time for the Falcons.
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In the 4th quarter of the Chiefs vs Falcons game, Kirk Cousins threw a short pass toward tight end Kyle Pitts, who was racing into the endzone. However, he was tackled by Chiefs safety Bryan Cook before he could catch the pass, denying the team 6 points and a chance to win the game.
Pitts was tackled before he could grab the ball and many fans claimed it was a pass interference. Even the commentators concurred with the fan opinion but no calls were made by the officials and the game resumed.
The Falcons have to play the #Chiefs and the refs. How tf you not call this PI?#KCvsATL pic.twitter.com/PPcCG8fMEN
— Mike McDaniel (@MikMcDaniel) September 23, 2024
Many people came out on X to talk about the unfair call in favor of the Chiefs and leading the charge was the NFL’s regular loudmouth Antonio Brown. He posted a picture of the refs in the Chiefs’ colors indicating a collusion between the two:
— AB (@AB84) September 23, 2024
Even former Super Bowl winner Robert Griffin III was baffled by the call:
That was pass interference.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) September 23, 2024
One fan claimed that in the Bengals game, a similar tackle was flagged for DPI when the Chiefs needed it.
Didnt they call this a DPI last week to set up the chiefs for a game winning FG??
— Mason Francis (@Mason00Francis) September 23, 2024
Last week, the team received a final-minute field kick after the Cincinnati safety was penalized for pass interference. Butker scored the kick from 51 yards to hand the Chiefs a one-point win over the visiting team.
A Chiefs fan also concurred that it was a pass interference:
I’m a Chiefs fan – and that is DPI
— Todd Rogers (@toddalator) September 23, 2024
While most fans argued that the tackle was a DPI, Skip Bayless disagreed and explained why the refs didn’t call it a penalty.
Bayless explained why it wasn’t a pass interference
NFL analyst Bayless tweeted on X to debunk all the misinformation about the tackle. He claimed that the refs were right in not calling a foul in the 3rd down.
He elaborated that when Cousins threw the ball, Pitts was already running to position himself to catch the ball, DB Cook didn’t see the ball and only tackled Pitts in an attempt to interfere after he rushed into the end zone.
Whenever a play is made in the team’s red zone both offense and defense are crammed together and in that chaos, players have to make a judgment call on where to run or whom to tackle.
The officials give them the benefit of the doubt and only call for penalties in severe cases of personal fouls.
Fans on both sides can argue over the penalty call but they can all agree that whenever the Champions are playing, a controversy is imminent.
