Referee trying to stop play during AFC Championship Game
Football fans lamenting over the NFL being “rigged” is nothing new.

But they felt like they had a legitimate gripe during the second half of the AFC Championship Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

The Chiefs are headed to another Super Bowl after a close win over Sunday’s opposition, closing things out with a field goal at the end to secure a 23-20 result. The Bengals have themselves to blame for that last play as they put KC in field-goal territory with an ill-advised foul on Patrick Mahomes.

Several plays prior, however, the Chiefs were given a second opportunity on a third down because the official had tried to stop play before the snap. Zac Taylor was livid on the sidelines, while Twitter was in disbelief.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Chiefs got a third down on a holding penalty.

 

You could see some of the reactions below.

Ultimately, the call proved inconsequential as the Chiefs ended up punting anyway. But the Bengals will feel hard done by as they had a lot of strange calls go against them during the game.