Getty Bill Belichick.
Before getting into anything, here’s a little disclaimer: officiating was NOT the reason the New England Patriots fell at home on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
That said, some blown calls did play a big part in New England’s defeat. A missed pass interference on Phillip Dorsett late would have set up first and goal for the Patriots. A fumble by Travis Kelce, later overturned by review, would have also resulted in a potential touchdown or at least excellent field position for the Patriots had it been correctly called on the field.
But the most infuriating blown call in the Patriots loss to the Chiefs was N’Keal Harry’s blatantly obvious touchdown that was inexplicably ruled out of bounds on the 3-yard line. Video review shown in the stadium clearly showed the rookie receiver had not stepped out of bounds, but no review was made because the Patriots had run out of challenges.
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Boger’s Explanation
Following the game, referee Jerome Boger spoke with the media to address that call, giving an unsatisfying response to questions by ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
“What led to it was the covering official on the wing was blocked out by defenders. The downfield official who was on the goal line and looking back toward the field of play had that he stepped out at the 3-yard line. So they got together and conferred on that. The final ruling was that he was out of bounds at the 3-yard line.”
When asked in response to whether the officials considered ruling a touchdown just to get the benefit of an automatic review, Boger continued to explain his crew’s thinking.
“Not really. Those two officials who were covering it, they look at it in real-time. This case was unique in that the guy who would have ruled touchdown had him short. So maybe if that ruling official on the goal line had a touchdown, we could have gotten into that, but he thought that that guy stepped out of bounds. The goal line wasn’t in the play.”
It was a play that had a major effect on the outcome of the game. With the touchdown called, the Patriots draw within three points and have the choice of kicking a field goal towards the end of regulation to tie the game instead of having to go for it on fourth down inside the five-yard line.
Pool report with referee Jerome Boger — focusing on N’Keal Harry play that was not ruled a touchdown — that is distributed to all media at the same time.
The Rest of the Sequence Wasn’t Great
Following Harry’s missed touchdown, the Patriots offense ran three plays that were wholly unimpressive. The first, a pitch to James White, went for negative yards. That was followed by an incomplete pass to Jakobi Meyers, then a sack for another six-yard loss preceding the field goal.
Regardless of the botched call, the Patriots mismanaged the remainder of the drive, settling for a field goal when it should have been a touchdown. It was another infuriating series where Josh McDaniels dialed up the wrong plays for the Patriots offense, and one where New England failed to convert.
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