ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The NFL fined Chiefs coach Andy Reid and star quarterback Patrick Mahomes after being critical of the officiating in the Bills' 20-17 victory last week in Kansas City.
Reid received a $100,000 fine for publicly criticizing officials. Mahomes was docked $50,000 due to unsportsmanlike conduct for abusive, threatening, or insulting language to officials, as well as publicly criticizing the referees, according to the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
The frustration stemmed from a second-and-10 from the Buffalo 48 late in the fourth quarter. That's when Mahomes connected on a 25-yard pass to Travis Kelce, who promptly threw a lateral across the field to wide receiver Kadarius Toney, who took it the rest of the way for a Chiefs touchdown.
Or so it seemed. Toney was flagged for lining up offsides to start the play, nullifying what Kansas City fans thought was a go-ahead score with a little more than a minute to play.
Instead, the Chiefs — after three straight incompletions — turned it over on downs as the Bills hung on to win 20-17.
“As the play unfolded," Bills coach Sean McDermott said in the postgame news conference. "Kelce got wide open. The play after he caught the ball, I've never seen a play like that in the NFL. But I saw the referees signaling that direction. I didn't know if it was a pick or what. It turned out to be offside.”
Reid didn't see it the same way when he took the podium following the game, leading to comments that drew a fine from the NFL on Saturday.