REID STILL HAS ISSUE WITH FLAG
Chiefs coach Andy Reid was still baffled Monday by an offside penalty called on his offense that wiped out a go-ahead, 49-yard touchdown pass against the Buffalo Bills, taking the officiating crew from Sunday’s game to task for throwing a flag rather than issuing a customary warning in that situation.
The play came with just over a minute left and the Chiefs trailing 20-17. Patrick Mahomes threw over the middle to Travis Kelce, who was about to get tackled when he lateraled to Kadarius Toney, who ran untouched the rest of the way for the score.
The Chiefs began to celebrate the touchdown, only to see that an official had thrown a flag on Toney for lining up offside.
“There are no excuses on this thing. That’s not what I’m saying,” Reid said. “I’ve always had a good working relationship with these guys, and that’s the important part. They know when they tell me something with a guy, I’m going to address the guy — like, right now — and make sure it gets changed. When you’re talking about inches, those happen in the game.”
Reid acknowledged during a Zoom call with reporters Monday that Toney was in the neutral zone. But in those situations, officials will usually give him a warning about the player, then throw a flag if there is another infraction.
“It’s a working relationship. That part is so important in this thing,” Reid said. “You can see it on both sides, whether it’s the defense lining up in the neutral zone at times. Just give the coach a heads-up, and in our case, we tell them. And then if they get called, listen, you’ve been warned. That’s how it worked over the years.”
Referee Carl Cheffers acknowledged that offensive offside is not something officials “want to be overly technical on,” but added that “when in his alignment he’s lined up over the ball, that’s something that we are going to call as offensive offside.”
“If they looked for alignment advice, certainly we are going to give it to them. But ultimately, they are responsible for wherever they line up,” Cheffers told a pool reporter. “And certainly, no warning is required, especially if they are lined up so far offside where they’re actually blocking our view of the ball . ... This particular one was beyond a warning.”
Stroud’s status uncertain
C.J. Stroud had the worst game of his young career in Sunday’s loss to the Jets before leaving with a concussion.
Now the Texans must wait and see if the star rookie quarterback can return this week against the Titans.
“We’ll see how he progresses,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Not many guys have returned the following week from a concussion.”
Jefferson better
Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson avoided internal injury from the airborne hit he took while catching a pass that cut short his return to action and has a “good chance” to play this week, coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday.
Jefferson was sidelined Sunday at Las Vegas when he went high for a 15-yard completion in the second quarter and was smacked hard from the side by Raiders safety Marcus Epps. The Vikings sent him to a hospital as a precaution.
Notable
Browns safety Grant Delpit signed a three-year, $36 million contract extension one day after he injured his groin in a win over Jacksonville. The deal includes $23 million guaranteed.
• The Steelers could be without star outside linebackers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith as they prepare for a pivotal visit to Indianapolis. Watt and Highsmith are both in concussion protocol following a loss to New England last Thursday.