Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes are both lighter in the wallet after they were critical of the officiating following their Week 14 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
The NFL fined Reid $100,000 Sunday for “violating long-standing league rules prohibiting public criticism of game officials,” according to ESPN.
Mahomes was fined $50,000 for his criticism of the officials along with his “unsportsmanlike conduct during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against Buffalo.”
The fines stem from the end of Sunday’s loss when officials called an offensive offside penalty on Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney, negating a go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter.
Mahomes was irate after Kansas City turned the ball over on downs and was held back by his teammates as he appeared to yell toward an official.
After the game, Mahomes could be heard complaining to Bills quarterback Josh Allen about the call.
When speaking with reporters after the loss, Mahomes explained what made him so upset.
“It’s tough to swallow. Not only from me and football in general, to take away greatness like that, for a guy like Travis [Kelce] to make a play like that, you want to see the guys on the field decide the game. They’re human. They make mistakes. But every week, we’re talking about something,” he said.
“It’s the call. Just in that moment. Not for myself. To have a flag change the outcome of the game. I’ve never had offensive offsides called. If it does, they warn you. There wasn’t a warning the entire game. And then you make a call like that in the final minute? Another game, we’re talking about the refs. It’s not what we want for the NFL. It’s not what we want for football.”
Reid was upset he didn’t get a warning about Toney’s foot placement.
“Usually I get a warning before something like that happens,” he said via FOX 4 KC. “A bit embarrassing in the National Football League for that to take place. … I didn’t have a protractor out there, but a bit embarrassing.”
Mahomes backtracked a bit later in the week, saying he regretted the way he reacted.
“Obviously, you don’t ever want to react that way,” Mahomes said in an interview on 610 Sports. “I care, man. I love this game, I love my teammates. I want to go out there and put everything on the line to win.
“But, obviously, can’t do that, can’t be that way toward officials or really anybody in life. So, I probably regret acting like that. But, more than anything, I regretted how I acted toward Josh after the game because he had nothing to do with it.”
Kansas City has lost two straight games and travels to Foxborough to take on the New England Patriots Sunday.
