Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and head coach, Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid respectively, were handed fines by the NFLafter their comments criticizing game officials publicly following their loss versus the Buffalo Bills on last Sunday.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, head coach Reid was handed a $100,000 fine, while QB Patrick Mahomes will have to pay a $50,000 fine due to both incurring ‘unsportsmanlike conduct for abusive, threatening or insulting language to officials, plus publicly criticizing the referees’, against the league’s policy.
Source: #Chiefs coach Andy Reid has been fined $100,000 for violating long-standing league rules prohibiting public criticism of game officials.
QB Patrick Mahomes has been fined $50,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct for abusive, threatening or insulting language to officials,…
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 16, 2023
Mahomes and Reid weren’t happy about
On last Sunday’s Chiefs loss against Buffalo, game officials ruled offside and disavowed a potential game-winning touchdown from Kansas City’s wide receiver Kadarius Toney with less than 90 seconds in the fourth quarter.
This decision ended up costing Kansas City the game, losing 20-17 vs the Bills. Most notably, Patrick Mahomes was furious with officials and started to scream at them after he considered they ‘blew’ the call on Kadarius Toney’s reception, continuing to do so on the post-game press conference.
Travis Kelce’s pass to Kadarius Toney was called back because KT was offsides 😱😱 pic.twitter.com/daMJPkMk8m
— SM ⚡️🌩 (@SMHighlights1) December 11, 2023
Head coach Reid also blasted the officials at the post-game conference, saying that the situation and the call were ‘a bit embarrassing’.
Both Reid and Mahomes toned it down a bit the following days and even retracted their comments about the game-changing decision, even retracting and admitting that they need to show ‘better sportsmanship’ in the future.
The Chiefs fell to an 8-5 record, losing their second game in a row after the defeat against the Buffalo Bills. Their next rival will be the New England Patriots on NFL’s Week 15.