It Appears Joe Mixon May Have Fumbled in Overtime and the Chiefs Should Have Gotten the Ball Back With the Game Tied
If you're a Chiefs fan, it seems as though you may have a right to feel a little bit cheated today.
Call it a technicality or whatever you want, but that sure looks like a fumble to me. Mixon goes down without being touched, puts the ball on the ground and there's a clear recovery by the Chiefs. There's every component necessary for this play to at least be reviewed, if not overturned.
Andy Reid called a timeout after the play and was talking to the officials about something — the CBS broadcast thought he wanted a review for an illegal formation — and he confirmed after the game he wanted them to look at the fumble, but there was no review. Reid said the officials claimed Mixon gave himself up.
Would this have been a mildly dumb way to potentially send the Chiefs to the Super Bowl instead of the Bengals? Maybe. But would I be absolutely losing my mind today if I was a Chiefs fan? You bet.
Getting to the Super Bowl is what everyone in the NFL works 365 days a year to achieve. If it takes a dumb play like that to get there, you take it.
I don't understand for the life of me why this wasn't at least reviewed. If the officials come back after looking at it and still say Mixon gave himself up or was touched, at least you can take some solace in that. But looking at that play as it stands now knowing it could have been the difference in an AFC Championship Game loss and a Super Bowl ring is going to sting for a while.