If Chiefs fans are looking to blame anyone for the offensive offsides penalty that foiled their comeback attempt Sunday, it should be the Philadelphia Eagles … so says Dean Blandino, who tells TMZ Sports their “Tush Push” play might have actually impacted the call during the Bills game.
The former NFL Vice President of Officiating said he believes refs are calling line of scrimmage fouls much more closely this year due to the nature of the Birds’ “Brotherly Shove” play — and that’s leading to more calls like the one against Kadarius Toney at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday evening.
“You think about 2015 to 2022,” Blandino said, “there were only 14 offensive offsides called in the entire league. This year already, with the Toney call, there’s 13. So, it’s definitely a point of emphasis this year.”
That all being said, however, Blandino made it clear the flag against Toney was the right call.
“This was clearly a foul,” he said. “The officials have to call it.”
Of course, Patrick Mahomes vehemently disagreed — he absolutely melted down after the flag was thrown … calling it “f***ing terrible,” while later explaining he wished the refs had just let it go.
Blandino said as a fan of the game, he understands the sentiment — though he said that if refs call things differently based on the game’s situation, it could have even more drastic implications.
“You say, ‘Let the players decide the game,'” Blandino said. “The problem with that is you tell the officials that and then the officials say, ‘K, we’re not going to call anything in the last two minutes.'”
“The players, the coaches will understand that and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to get away with — we’re going to play more aggressive, we’re going to push the envelope.’ And then the game, it’s going to be decided unfairly for a different reason.”
Bottom line, Blandino emphasized the call just had to be made … even if some Kansas City fans might never accept it.
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