NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell breaks silence on Kadarius Toney offside call,  Dan Orlovsky disagrees

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It would be an understatement to say NFL officials have been under fire recently.

That’s nothing unusual considering the magnitude of games and the league’s weekly audience.

Every refereeing decision, right or wrong, is under scrutiny by someone.

Last Sunday, the officiating crew for the Buffalo Bills-Kansas City Chiefs game was blasted by some for calling Kadarius Toney offside late in that ball game.

Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid expressed their displeasure about the call, which took away a highlight-reel go-ahead score for the Chiefs when Travis Kelce alertly lateralled the ball to Toney.

The Chiefs’ biggest gripe in the post-game press conference was that no warnings were ever issued.

The officiating crew says Toney lined up so far offside that they didn’t need to give a warning.

The NFL commissioner is backing the refs for how they handled that situation.

“Absolutely the Right Call”

After the December league meeting in Irving, Texas, Roger Goodell addressed recent complaints about referees.

The commissioner is adamantly behind the officials for flagging Toney last Sunday.

“I find it a little ironic when you say attention on officiating when I think almost everybody, to my knowledge, is acknowledging that the officials were absolutely correct,” Goodell said.

“That’s their job to call when there’s a foul. There was no question about that foul. It was absolutely the right call. If you don’t call that, obviously we would’ve been subject, or our officials would’ve been subject to criticism also.”

“We all understand our officials are second-guessed. I’ve said it many times before, they are not perfect. No human being is. But the reality is they do an extraordinary job.”

Not getting off with a Warning

The issue of warnings and whether or not they should be given more often is a hot topic in the NFL right now.

While everyone is virtually unanimous on the fact that Toney was offside, it’s seemingly split regarding a flag.

Former officials and obviously Bills fans are 100% in favour of the flag, but many others, including evidently those in the Chiefs’ Kingdom, disagree.

During Monday’s edition of NFL Live, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky was in the Chiefs corner about the decision.

On the telecast, he showed that Toney lined up offside on multiple occasions throughout the game.

There was, however, never a warning or a penalty given until that game-winning score got called back.

“So, I went back I watched every single snap from last night that Kadarius Toney played. Not one time did he check with the official, but that play that we’re talking about was not the first time it happened in the game,” said Orlovsky.

“It’s this for me: No. 1 Kadarius Toney, you should always look at the official to say, ‘Hey am I on?’ If you did that and the flag got thrown, we’ve got an issue. If you didn’t do that, the Chiefs have got to figure out they’ve got an issue.”