Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes must pay a hefty price for criticizing officials last Sunday. The epic matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills ended in wild fashion. The Chiefs appeared to take the lead on a crazy lateral play. However, officials ruled Toney offsides, wiping out the would-be touchdown.
The call was met with rash criticism from the Chiefs stars. They were amazed that the officials called the offside penalty… even though Toney was blatantly offside. So much so that the officials said they couldn’t even see the ball.
The NFL levied significant fines on Mahomes and Reid. The duo received a combined $150,000 in fines from the league.
Reid earned $100,000 in fines, while the league fined the star quarterback Mahomes $50,000.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the news of the fines.
“Chiefs coach Andy Reid has been fined $100,000 for violating long-standing league rules prohibiting public criticism of game officials,” Rapoport said. “QB Patrick Mahomes has been fined $50,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct for abusive, threatening, or insulting language to officials, plus violating long-standing league rules prohibiting public criticism of refs.”
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
Later this week, Toney, at the center of the controversy, doubled down on what he feels happened. Toney expressed that he thinks the referees should have warned them. While that’s arguable, it’s also arguable that Toney could have taken up the personal responsibility to check in with the referees. That’s standard operating procedure around the league.
Or, you know, he could have just elected not to line up offside.
