Andy Reid admonished officials after a game-changing offensive offsides penalty late in Sunday night’s upset loss to the Buffalo Bills. The Kansas City Chiefs’ head coach suggested the down judge on the sideline should have given a warning that Kansas City wideout Kadarius Toney — who’d go on to score a go-ahead touchdown on the play, only to have it wiped out — had lined up improperly.
The thing is, even if Toney had been warned he may not have gotten the message. The All-22 film of the play in question suggests the young wideout never even looked at the down judge on the sideline nearest him to check in about his alignment before the snap.
All 22 angle of the Kelce lateral/Toney offside play. Doesn't appear Toney once checks with the sideline judge on his side from this.
Also amazing job still from Kelce finding him in space. pic.twitter.com/UyiVABuBSp
— Shaun Newkirk (@Shauncore) December 11, 2023
The zoomed-out film from Arrowhead Stadium shows Toney planted at the line. As he steadies himself for the pre-snap set, he glances forward and at center Creed Humphrey — but not back toward his own sideline, where the down judge would have been standing on the line of scrimmage to examine for offsides or illegal formations up front. The third year wideout didn’t check-in with the official; he just took his spot in front of the line and went about his business without knowing he’d lined up in the neutral zone.
Which, you know, isn’t legal.
Shaun Newkirk, who provided the video, also took a crack at Von Miller’s alignment the next play — which some people believe should have been flagged as well. While there’s room for debate, it’s much less blatant and more of a judgment call to declare the Bills’ defender offside.
Sorry – I guess the moment that *really* matters is where he was lined up at the snap, not the millisecond after. Here's the millisecond before the the ball moves. pic.twitter.com/QCAO7K9X2z
— Shaun Newkirk (@Shauncore) December 11, 2023
So, there you have it. A stupid penalty for sure, but one that was avoidable and ultimately called correctly. That helped boost Buffalo’s playoff odds from 14 percent to 42, per the New York Times — but with games against the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins remaining, there’s still plenty of work to be done.
