Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills had their season come to a crushing end last Sunday when they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, 32-29, in a thrilling AFC championship game at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bills seemed to get the raw end of a few key calls by the refs, including a spot on a fourth-and-1 attempt early in the fourth quarter. While it looked like Allen might have picked up enough, refs debated it before saying he was short. The replay then confirmed the call, the Chiefs took over on downs, and scored a big touchdown moments later.
Dean Blandino, the former head of officiating for the NFL, told TMZ this week that he thought Allen had picked up the first down.
“The spot on the fourth down was close,” Blandino told TMZ.com. “When I watched it live, I really did. I thought he made the big line. It was close. You know, when you watch the two officials, one official was coming in from the top. Looked like that official had the spot at the line to gain. The other official had it just short. When you have those situations, really, who does the ball open up to? Does one official defer to the other? Thought they both had fairly decent looks at it. They went with the spot that was short. And once you get it that close it’s gonna be tough to overturn.”
That was a huge call that could have led to a different outcome in the game. Instead, the Chiefs won and will try to win their third straight Super Bowl when they take on the Eagles in New Orleans on Feb. 9.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Former Head of NFL Refs Thought They Got Key Call Wrong Against Josh Allen, Bills.
