The Kansas City Chiefs are 0-1, but Andy Reid feels things should have been different if justice had been served.
The Chiefs coach lamented the officials’ decision to allow Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart to remain in the game after his obvious open-hand punch to the face of KC tight end Travis Kelce.
Reid addressed reporters Monday following Kansas City’s surprising 27-21 loss to the rival Chargers in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Friday night.
The Chiefs dropped their opener for the second time in the past three seasons. But they meet the reigning Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday and will try to avoid their first 0-2 open to a season for the first time since Reid’s second year in KC, 2014.
What Did Andy Reid Say About Teair Tart’s Punch?
There has been a huge outcry that Tart should have been ejected when he smashed his open hand into Kelce’s facemask and picked up a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness with 8:30 to go in the third quarter.
Reid said he didn’t get an explanation from three-time Super Bowl head referee Carl Cheffers or any of the game officials for why Tart wasn’t disqualified, but did state his belief that Tart’s action rose to the level of a punch, even though he used an open palm.
“I don’t understand that,” Reid said on his Zoom call with reporters Monday, referencing the decision to let Tart stay in the game. “I guess it’s open-hand, fist, whatever, I don’t know. I don’t know what their decision was on that. But he definitely got hit in the head pretty hard whether it was an open first or a closed fist.”
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes scampered 11 yards on the game’s next play for a touchdown that would have tied the score at 13 if not for Harrison Butker’s crucial missed extra point.
When asked to elaborate, Reid said he would seek an explanation from the league office.
“I’ll work out that with the league,” he said. “I can’t get into all that.”
Why Did It Matter That Teair Tart Was Not Ejected?
That Tart was able to stay in the game had an enormous impact, even though his penalty led to a Chiefs touchdown.
The seventh-year defensive tackle had two passes defended after his unnecessary roughness and made arguably the biggest play of the game early in the fourth quarter, even though he was not credited with a stat on it.
After Mahomes hit Kelce for a 37-yard TD that cut LA’s lead to 20-18, Tart knocked down Mahomes’ pass on the subsequent two-point attempt, which was intended for tight end Noah Gray that would have tied the game.
Tart also knocked down a pass on first and goal at the LA 9-yard line intended for Hollywood Brown on KC’s last offensive drive. The drive stalled there, and Butker kicked a 27-yard field goal.
The Chargers got the ball back up six instead of being only up two and ran out the clock.
Tart finished with one tackle, the two knockdowns and had a 70.4 grade according to Pro-Football Focus. He also had a sick burn on Kelce on Instagram after the game.
Chiefs’ Andy Reid Questions Why Chargers DT Wasn’t Ejected Over Travis Kelce Slap