‘Greatest play’… Kadarius Toney is angry as he speaks out for the first time since Offside Penalty

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Days after his costly penalty, Kadarius Toney addressed his blunder for the first time.

The Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver is making headlines with his offside play wiping out his team’s go-ahead score last weekend against the Buffalo Bills.

Buffalo wound up hanging on to win 20-17, the second successive defeat for the Chiefs.

Although Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and head coach Andy Reid are all vouching for the 24-year-old, Thursday was the first time Toney discussed the incident.

He claims to be oblivious to the fact that he was the one called for offside until after the game.

“I really didn’t even find out that the penalty was on me until I was almost home. I really wasn’t even, like, in tune. I was more worried about what was going on, play by play,” said Toney.

“Unfortunately, you know, they took back the greatest play, the greatest tight end that ever played the game done did.”

The biggest gripe for the Chiefs about that penalty is that it came without an initial warning.

Toney says he never received a warning despite checking in with the refs’ numerous times.

“Nah, they didn’t,”

“And then they came back and lied and said they gave me a warning, which I never talked to the ref.”

NFL senior VP of officiating Walt Anderson and referee Carl Cheffers addressed the offside penalty along with why they upheld a catch by the Bills’ Latavius Murray.

In short, they say no rule requires an official to notify a receiver if they’re offside.

That offside penalty is only the third flag against Toney in his career according to Pro Football Reference.

Teachable Moment

Offensive Coordinator Matt Nagy talked about the Toney penalty this week, and whether or not he lined up offside on purpose.

“None of it was intentional,” Nagy told reporters.

“I think that’s the frustrating part for all of us is in a moment like that, that KT didn’t do that, maliciously or intentionally… It’s a big moment in the game, but it is what it is. And we got to learn from that.”

Nagy says the penalty is a good teaching moment for him and his coaching staff as a way to help the offense improve.

He goes on to say that it’s a good lesson about the “rules of the game and making sure that we lock in on that and we understand it and use it to our benefit.”

The hope is that it can serve as a wake-up call for Toney and the struggling offense, who have been relatively sloppy throughout the season.

Heading into this weekend’s action, the Chiefs are seventh in the league regarding offensive yards-per-game (361.3).

After leading the league in points-per-game a season ago (29.2), Kansas City is currently scoring at a rate of 22.5 in 2023.

On Sunday, they’ll face a pretty sharp defensive unit, with the New England Patriots conceding the eighth-fewest yards per game this season (306.9).