Month: December 2023

The NFL will is said to plan on reviewing Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and coach Andy Reid’s criticism of referees following Sunday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, with insiders reporting that the league will look at the comments due to there being a “long-standing policy against questioning the integrity of the referees.” On Monday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on The Pat McAfee Show that Mahomes and Reid could potentially be facing fines.

After wideout Kadarius Toney was called for an offensive offsides penalty that negated what would have been a go-ahead touchdown for the Chiefs late in the fourth quarter on Sunday, Reid said: “very disappointed that it ended the way it did. Normally I’ll get—I never use any of this as excuses, but normally I get a warning before something like that happens in a big game. (It’s) a bit embarrassing in the National Football League for that to take place…
“I’ve been in the league a long time and I haven’t had one like that. So, not where, at least in that kind of position there where it is not given a heads up to.”

Meanwhile, during Mahomes and Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s postgame meeting on the field, the KC QB said the call was “f–king terrible” and later said to reporters during the postgame press conference: “I’ve played seven years [and] never had offensive offside called. That’s elementary school [stuff] we’re talking about. There was no warning throughout the entire game. Then you wait until there’s a minute left in the game to make a call like that? It’s tough. Lost for words. It’s tough. Regardless if we win or lose, just the end of another game and we’re talking about the refs. It’s just not what we want for the NFL and for football. What you want as a competitor is you practice all week to go out there and try to win, and you want it to be about your team and that team and see what happens. You don’t want to be talking about this stuff after the game. I’m not worried about if there was a flag on the next player or whatever, not a flag. I want to go out there and play and then see what happens at the end, see what the score is, and then I can live with the results.”

Referee Carl Cheffers defended the call after the game, telling reporters: “Ultimately, they are responsible for wherever they line up. No warning is required, especially if they are lined up so far offsides where they’re actually blocking our view of the ball. We would give them a warning if it was anywhere close, but this particular one is beyond a warning.”

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Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said that wide receiver Justin Jefferson is ‘day-to-day’ after being briefly hospitalized with a chest injury following the Vikings’ 3-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.  O’Connell said on Monday: “[He’s] day-to-day, hopefully with a good chance of playing with us in Cincinnati.” The Vikings will face the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday.

After Jefferson caught a 15-yard pass over the middle of the field midway through the second quarter on Sunday in Vegas, he was hit hard by Raiders safety Marcus Epps, and remained down on the field for a bit. After making his way back to the locker room, and the Vikings quickly ruled him out with a chest injury, announcing that he was being transported to the hospital. Jefferson later returned to Allegiant Stadium before the end of the game and traveled home to Minnesota with the team.

The 24-year-old Jefferson had two catches for 27 yards before he was injured; he was playing in his first game back from a long hamstring injury he sustained earlier in the season before being activated off of injured reserve on Nov. 28. In six previous games this season, the wide receiver has 598 yards and three touchdowns.

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Houston QB C.J. Stroud left the Texans’ game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday due to a head injury, with the team later revealing that Stroud is being evaluated for a concussion. Davis Mills came in to relieve Stroud.

The rookie quarterback suffered the head injury on a second-and-10 play from their 25-yard line with just under seven minutes to play, after completing a six-yard pass to wideout John Metchie III.  When Stroud was tackled by New York’s DT Quinnen Williams, his body initially hit the turf, but later the back of Stroud’s helmet smacked against the ground.  Stroud was able to walk off the field, before departing to the locker room.

Prior to leaving the game, Stroud completed 10 of his 23 passes for 91 yards.  The rookie has led the NFL with 3,540 passing yards coming into this week and was on pace for 5,015 yards, which would’ve been a rookie record, making him the front-runner for Offensive Rookie of the Year coming into Week 14.

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rallied in the fourth quarter, led by a pair of touchdowns – including Baker Mayfield’s 11-yard TD pass to Cade Otton with 31 seconds remaining — to earn a 29-25 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. The Bucs (6-7) now sit tied for first place in the NFC South, with four weeks left in the regular season.

Mayfield completed 14 of 29 with two touchdowns, including one which he ran for the Buccaneers’ first TD. The Bucs defense also came up big in the first half, with Carlton Davis intercepting a pass to set up Mayfield’s 1-yard scoring run, and Antoine Winfield Jr. forcing a fumble from Atlanta that resulted in a safety. Winfield became only the second defensive back since 2000 with at least three sacks, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries in a single season.

The Buccaneers will head to Green Bay next Sunday for their second straight road game before the end of the regular season.

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