Chiefs' Travis Kelce rips referee for flagging Eric Fisher for 2-point holding
The Kansas City Chiefs fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round of the playoffs, 18-16, as Alex Smith’s second two-point pass was knocked away in the final minutes.
Smith’s first attempt appeared to tie the game, as he connected with tight end Demetrius Harris following Spencer Ware’s touchdown with 2:43 remaining. But left tackle Eric Fisher — the former No. 1 overall pick — was flagged for holding, wiping out what would have been a tie game.
Tight end Travis Kelce, who had a big penalty of his own in the game and was held relatively in check, didn’t like the call. Not one bit in fact.
“Ref No. 51 shouldn’t even be able to wear a zebra jersey,” Kelce said, via ESPN.com. “He shouldn’t even be able to work at … Foot Locker.”
In case you’re scoring at home, Ref No. 51 would be Carl Cheffers, whom Fox’s Mike Pereira said during the broadcast of the Green Bay Packers-Dallas Cowboys game is expected to head up the Super Bowl LI crew. Of course, Kelce and the Chiefs will not be playing in that one.
Fisher’s penalty was huge, and for a player who was starting to earn some respect after being labeled something of a bust, it could be a career-defining one — fair or not. And as you can imagine, Fisher appeared to be taking the play and the loss hard in the moments following the loss to the Steelers.
“I hope 72 [Fisher] doesn’t go the whole offseason thinking it’s his fault because it’s not,” Kelce said.
About that, Kelce is right. The Chiefs made a ton of mistakes throughout the game. But it’s Kelce’s comments about the referee that resonate the most, and following his own bad night — he dropped what would have been a huge gain from Smith in the second half and then later lost his cool and cost the Chiefs 15 yards with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty — it’s an awful look. Whether he’s right about the call or not.
For the record, Kelce is wrong. This appeared to be a classic hold, as Fisher wrapping his arms around the Steelers’ James Harrison and brought him down.
– – – – – – –
Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
