The Kansas City Chiefs and their treatment by the officials have become the subject of great scrutiny as Patrick Mahomes tries to chase his third straight Super Bowl victory, and the Buffalo Bills may have inadvertently created yet another officiating controversy in the fourth quarter of their AFC Championship duel.
As the Bills were driving up 22-21 following a splendid James Cook touchdown and multiple key conversions on their current drive, Buffalo decided to attempt another fourth down run to keep the ball moving in Kansas City territory. Officially, the call stated that Allen's sneak attempt was short of the line to gain.
While the ensuing replay didn't show definitive proof either way, it could easily be inferred that Allen's second effort was enough to get past the line for the first. Instead, the Chiefs got the ball back, and they wasted no time stinging the Bills.
Right after this play, which once again set social media ablaze with tin foil hat conspiracies about the refs' love for Mahomes, Kansas City found the endzone on a Mahomes scramble and pushed ahead 29-22 following a two-point conversion. Bills fans may look back at that play with hate in their eyes for years to come.
Refs help Chiefs, hurt Bills in AFC Championship on 4th down spot
While the Bills did eventually tie the game up thanks to Allen finding Curtis Samuel in the back of the end zone, Buffalo has to be kicking themselves after allowing Mahomes and the Chiefs to march down the field after coming inches short.
This wasn't the first time the Chiefs were the benefactors of a judgment call in this game. As Kansas City was making moves into Buffalo territory, Xavier Worthy's acrobatic catch looked like a possible incompletion as the ball started to jar loose before he had possession. The play was not overturned, and Mahomes found the end zone soon after.
While the refs may not have been favoring Kansas City in this, or any other, game, it seems like the Bills won't be getting any lucky bounces from the refs handing them a 50/50 call in their favor in this game. If they are going to win this, it will be on the back of Allen's playmaking skills.