Super Bowl 2021 Chiefs Andy Reid sees hi

First things first: the Kansas City Chiefs didn't only lose the game due to NFL officiating. The key word there is "only," however, because it certainly played a part in the outcome. You'd have to work down the list of things that went wrong for the Chiefs as a team before landing on the controversial penalties, but the flags only made an already floundering effort that much worse. Andy Reid didn't foresee Avery Williams Jersey this being a thing in Super Bowl LV though, telling media in the days ahead that he believed the officials would mostly swallow their whistles and let the game unfold organically.Specifically, Reid wasn't concerned about the po sibility of a heavily-flagged contest at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, instead predicting the crew -- led by Carl Cheffers and featuring a history-making official in Sarah Thomas -- wouldn't do much interfering with the game.Asked by media if officials would let the players play, Reid nodded."Yeah, so normally that takes place," he said in the days ahead of eventual lo s to the Bucs. "Now, the referee that's working our game, Carl Cheffers, he's done a couple of our games this year, so he knows us and we know him. And Fred Bryan, the umpire, we know himthe back judge, all these guys have worked our games and/or have been at our training camps in years past."Spoiler: They didn't do as Reid thought.The Chiefs were flagged 11 times for a total of 120 yards, and Reid will likely poke the league's front office with a sharpened stick to get an explanation on at least two of them. The first came on a deep pa s from Tom Brady to wideout Mike Evans, who then tripped, Keith Smith Jersey fell and convinced the official it was because he was tripped by cornerback Bashaud Breeland. By the way, there was contact, but Mike Evans sold this like he was playing the other football Tom Downey (@WhatGoingDowney) The other came on the very same drive, when All-Pro cornerback Tyrann Mathieu was flagged Atlanta Falcons Jersey in the end zone on what some viewed as an uncatchable ball. The penalty put the Bucs on the 1-yard line, where Brady and Antonio Brown took care of the rest with a one-yard touchdown throw and catch. Really not sure about this one Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) There was also a defensive holding penalty on cornerback Charvarius Ward, which was also skewered by some as too close to call or outright nonexistent, negating what would've been an interception on Brady by Mathieu and the Chiefs only takeaway of the game. It wasn't that Reid believed there'd be no flags thrown all game, but he did think familiarity with the officials -- from both teams -- would likely keep the bulk of the laundry off of the field."I think Bruce Arians would tell you the same thing," Reid added. "By the time you get to this one, they know you, they kind of know your players and they've watched tape and so on, so they've got a pretty good feel on things. ... I think they let you play within reason. They're still going to call holdings and do those things, but within reason they'll let you play." All eyes were every flag thrown and not thrown on Sunday, including some no-calls that Tajae Sharpe Jersey seemingly did favor the Chiefs at times, as Cheffer's crew walked into a boiler room of scrutiny hoping to walk out without leaving a negative mark on the game itself -- a point former longtime NFL official and current CBS Sports rules analyst Gene Steratore -- but they didn't achieve that mi sion."I can tell you the magnitude of what the Super Bowl is for the country and, truthfully, even if you're not a lover of sports -- it's a historical event," Steratore said. "When you're officiating something of this level and you understand that an incorrect call or a slip in the moment, it's very humbling to know if Elijah Wilkinson Jersey that is to occur, that mistake will potentially be a part of history. That's a very, very humbling feeling when you realize that, and I experienced that. ... When you get to this level, that pre sure is either something you're going to embrace at some point, or it's going to smother you."The Chiefs themselves were recent beneficiaries of a controversial ruling that was by the book and helped them escape an upset at the hands of the in the AFC Divisional Round -- namely the fumbling out of the end zone rule -- but their luck ran out in Tampa. Reid predicted a mostly quiet night from an officiating standpoint, but it was anything but. Add it to the list of other reasons Brady and the Bucs on Sunday.You can argue whether the calls were legit or not, and that's the problem: they can be argued.