Suspicions that the Kansas City Chiefs are getting special treatment from NFL officials continue to grow after fans noticed bizarre activity from the sidelines.
In the second quarter of the Chiefs’ Saturday afternoon game against the Houston Texans, the reigning Super Bowl champions appeared to get help from a ball boy while trailing 10-7 at Arrowhead.
As head coach Andy Reid tried to call a timeout from a few yards away, he failed to get the referee’s attention. That’s when a ball boy standing behind the referee appeared to deliver the message, pointing at Reid.
The referee reacted quickly and called a pause in the action, allowing Kansas City to reset in the huddle.
Given NFL rules where only the head coach can call a timeout, fans were quick to point the finger at the Chiefs after the clip was posted.
“How the hell do they get away with this,” one user wrote.
Eagle-eyed fans noticed how a ball boy helped the Chiefs get a timeout in a win over Houston
“Just because Reid can’t get his fat ass through the court like every other HC does doesn’t mean the ball boy gets to get the referee’s attention,” exclaimed another.
‘Ball Boy cannot assist or notify the referees when a team attempts to call a timeout. It’s insane that the referee didn’t call a flag on the Chiefs for that……. Oh wait,” a third joked.
While many immediately threw shade at the call, other fans came to the Chiefs’ defense.
“Dude got the attention of the officials to look at Reid,” one person argued. “You’re all whiners.”
Another echoed the sentiment, saying, “He got the referee’s attention that Reid tried to call one, I’m all for the boss’s hate but man.”
“It looks like the coach was trying to call a timeout and the referee didn’t see him or wasn’t paying attention, so the ball boy got his attention. What a controversy,’ said a third.’
While the controversial call happened with the Chiefs down, they fought to win the game 27-19. The win moved Andy Reid’s men to 14-1 with two games remaining in the regular season.
On the other hand, the Texans left Kansas City with a 9-6 record atop the AFC South.
This wasn’t the first time the Chiefs got away with another person not named Andy Reid helping them get a timeout this season.
In Week 1, the Chiefs got a timeout that shouldn’t have counted when defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo ran down the sideline with nine seconds left in the first half. The stoppage was granted despite Reid being the only person allowed to call timeouts.
The Chiefs would win their opening game in a rematch of the AFC title game against Baltimore 27-1, before going on an incredible nine-game win streak to start their threepeat campaign.