The Jacksonville Jaguars held on for a thrilling win against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night, but the game was marred by some questionable calls that appeared to benefit the Chiefs.
Before his unlikely touchdown run to secure the 31-28 victory, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw a costly interception deep in his own territory earlier in the fourth quarter. The turnover allowed the Chiefs to complete a short drive to tie the game, but replays showed that the Chiefs appeared to get away with pass interference — one of several calls that led to backlash against officials.
Critical Call Flips Momentum
After the Chiefs opened up a 14-0 lead to start the game, the Jaguars clawed back with three unanswered touchdowns. They held a 21-14 lead and had the ball early in the fourth quarter when Lawrence was picked off.
Replay showed that Chiefs defensive back Jaden Hicks ran into Jaguars wide receiver Parker Washington well before the ball arrived, knocking him down and allowing teammate Trent McDuffie to intercept the ball.
The ESPN broadcast called out officials for missing the penalty.
“That’s a big miss. That should’ve been pass interference,” said ESPN rules analyst Russell Yurk.
“I mean, a huge, huge miss,” added announcer Joe Buck.
Many fans and reporters joined in criticizing officials for missing what seemed to be a clear penalty.
The Chiefs come through with what they badly needed, a pick of Trevor Lawrence that gives them the ball back inside the red zone,” wrote NFL reporter Curt Weiler in a post on X. “Looked like uncalled pass interference? Trevor certainly thought so and the broadcast just called it a huge missed call.”
Chiefs Benefitted From Another Close Call
Many fans were also upset at another questionable call that benefited the Chiefs earlier in the game. Officials had initially thrown a flag for offensive pass interference on a two-yard touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce to open the scoring in the first quarter.
Officials determined that the contact to a Jaguars defender took place within one yard of the line of scrimmage, making it legal contact, but many disagreed.
The Jaguars were able to overcome the questionable calls, getting a late drive after the Chiefs took a 28-24 lead on a two-yard touchdown from Kareem Hunt with 1:45 remaining in the fourth quarter.
After the kickoff went out of bounds to put the ball on Jacksonville’s 40-yard line, Lawrence drove the Jaguars into the red zone and scored after a botched play where he tripped and fell after taking the snap. Lawrence got up and found a lane into the endzone, securing the 31-28 victory.
The final scoring drive did get some help from the officials, with the Chiefs getting flagged for pass interference in the endzone to set up Lawrence’s final touchdown scramble.
The Chiefs fell to 2-3 with the loss, missing out on a chance to make up ground in the playoff hunt. They are now two full games behind the Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, and Indianapolis Colts for the best record in the AFC.
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