A string of strange calls against the Bengals in the AFC Championship Sunday night has NFL fans furious over the officiating in the second half. Officials seemed to give Kansas City a fourth-quarter do-over while the game was tied 20-20. It appears an error involving the clock operator led to them giving a “mulligan” after the play. “We’re basically having a do-over here, guys,” CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore explained during the broadcast. This, along with a number of questionable flags called on Cincinnati and missed calls by the referees, has left the Bengals and the entire NFL world stunned, furious, and demanding change by the questionable officiating. Since last night, “NFL Rigged” has been trending on Twitter as fans express disbelief at the AFC Championship outcome.
CINCINNATI ENQUIRER: The officiating in the AFC Championship had NFL fans calling the game rigged for the Chiefs
By Andrew Joseph; January 30, 2023
Heading into the AFC Championship Game, plenty of Chiefs fans were melting down over the Super Bowl officiating assignment — a game they hadn’t even reached yet. Well, if the NFL was operating under some anti-Chiefs bias, they sure hid it well in Sunday’s game against the Bengals.
In the second half, especially, the Bengal’s sideline was in a state of disbelief when the Chiefs were given a mulligan on a third-down play because an official tried to stop play before the snap. On that do-over third down, the Chiefs ended up getting the first down by virtue of a penalty.
While the whole sequence didn’t make much of a difference as the Chiefs punted, it represented a trend of strange calls going against the Bengals all half.
There was also a weak pass interference call against Mike Hilton that extended a Chiefs drive.
The Chiefs didn’t even need to score off of any of these calls to have fans furious. The officiating left a lot to be desired.