The Chiefs vs. Bengals AFC championship game took a turn for the conspiracy-minded when, in a 20-20 game in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs were given an extra shot at convering on third down because of wonky officiating.
With just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Kansas City ran a play on third-and-9 that fell short of the first-down marker. As the Chiefs’ offense went to the sideline for an apparent punt, officials convened to discuss the clock.
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Referree Ronald Torbert ruled that the play should be nullified because of a timekeeping mistake on the preceding second-down play, an incomplete pass. The Chiefs were awarded another third-down play, baffling NFL fans watching.
The call apparently came from the league office in New York. An official was coming onto the field from the sideline during the initial third-down play because of the clock issue.
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Fans weren’t the only ones confused. CBS broadcasters Jim Nantz and Tony Romo took issue with the extra play as well and were stunned when the Chiefs’ offense came back onto the field.
Why is he trying to stop the play and if no one heard him why did the Chiefs get another play? I’m so confsued pic.twitter.com/WEwHmhqvT9
— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) January 30, 2023
Bengals coach Zac Taylor was, unsurprisingly, livid.
Zac Taylor is not a happy camper rn pic.twitter.com/MHq1G1fwLM
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 30, 2023
On the second third-and-9 play, a defensive holding penalty by Bengals cornerback Eli Apple negated a sack of Patrick Mahomes and gave the Chiefs a first down.
As dangerous as the Chiefs are, however, they picked up just 1 more yard on the series, thus making the difference of the do-over a loss of 1 minute, 10 seconds off the clock — which, in the interest of fairness, was incredibly important at that stage of such a big game.
Kansas City went on to win 23-20 and advance to Super Bowl 57 against the Eagles.
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Unsurprisingly, #NFLRigged immediately started to trend on Twitter as people reacted to the baffling sequence.
Bengals fans already had Torbert’s number after Super Bowl 56 last year, and this is only going to make him more hated.
