Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney calls offsides penalty 'bogus' and says refs lied about warning
Toney kept the controversy alive following Kansas City's loss to Buffalo
The Kansas City Chiefs were full of complaints after the offsides penalty against wide receiver Kadarius Toney negated a potential winning touchdown in Sunday's loss to the Buffalo Bills.
On Thursday, Toney kept those grievances alive. Speaking to media about the call for the first time, the 24-year-old didn't admit any wrongdoing. Instead, he placed a microscope on the referees.
“Pretty much bogus. It is what it is,” Toney told reporters, via Fox4. “Y’all wouldn’t be here talking to me if it wasn’t a big deal.”
It was an unforgettable play. Down 20-17 with 1:25 left in the fourth quarter, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes sent a long pass to tight end Travis Kelce, who lateraled to Toney for a would-be touchdown. It didn't count because Toney was offsides. The ball was behind the 48-yard line, and Toney was ahead of the 48-yard line, so a penalty was called. But evidently, things weren't so simple for the Chiefs. Mahomes was so upset that he slammed his helmet down and screamed while Chiefs personnel held him back from going at officials.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was also against the penalty, calling it "embarrassing" for the NFL. While he admitted that Toney didn't check his position with officials, Reid still believes they were to blame. The referees didn't warn Toney about being offsides, Reid told reporters Monday.
The problem is that officials lied to Toney after the fact, the wideout said Thursday.
“Then they came back and lied and said they gave me a warning, which I never talked to a ref,” Toney said. “We moving forward. I ain’t really studyin’ that. That’s small. Full spectrum, we moving forward. We ain’t really thinking about that no more.”
It's not a rule for officials to put players on notice, but it's often done as a courtesy. Referee Carl Cheffers emphasized the severity of Toney's infraction when he explained the decision.
“No warning is required especially if they are lined up so far offsides where they’re actually blocking our view of the ball,” Cheffers said in a pool report. “We would give them some sort of a warning if it was anywhere close, but this particular one is beyond a warning.”
Toney doesn't agree.
“Whether it was, an inch, 2 inches, whatever in front of the ball, the referee got a job to let me know, I guess you could say. He didn’t make no effort," he said Thursday. "You watch the video, he didn’t make no effort to say anything about no alignment. So apparently, he wanted to do that."
The penalty was a big deal in the NFL world, sparking multiple discussions about officiating and the Chiefs, as their record fell to 8-5. Ultimately, Toney and the Chiefs have no choice other than to move on.
In that effort, Toney said they will go "back to the details" to avoid similar penalties in the future. Recording 195 total yards on 36 total touches and some tough drops this season, Toney said he feels "nothing but confidence and belief" in himself.
“At the end of the day, I just try to go out there and make as many plays as I can when I can,” he added Thursday. “Unfortunately, they took back the greatest play the greatest tight end that done played the game done did. But besides that, we gotta be strong mentality and we moving forward.”
The Chiefs will have an opportunity to showcase that mentality Sunday against the New England Patriots.