On Monday’s match U.S. Bank Stadium, the Kansas City Chiefs‘ 4-1 victory against the Minnesota Vikings didn’t seem to be settling well amongst the fans. The somewhat questionable calls made by the match officials seems to largely favor the Kansas City team.
Fans believe that there is favoritism towards the Chiefs and hence their league is “rigged”, following how things turned out for L’Jarius Sneed in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
NFL official was caught telling Chiefs to wear helmets rather than tossing the flag
The outcome of the game of Chiefs vs Vikings weren’t very certain until the last minute 27-20 victory. Vikings quarterback, Kirk Cousins tried a 4th-and-12 pass to rookie receiver Jordan Addison in the end zone with the Vikings trailing by one point.
In the meantime, cornerback L’Jarius Sneed received flags for defense interference after the pass fell short. Following this, Sneed instantly started ridiculing the referees and took off his helmet as he protested the call, which led to his team getting another chance.
Cameras also captured the referee urging Sneed to put his “helmet back on” rather than issuing him a penalty. Despite the cornerback’s actions warranting a penalty, there was no further measure taken against the player.
Why do people think NFL is rigged for Chiefs?
Fans were enraged by the situation with cornerback Sneed as they believed that not only should Sneed have received a penalty for receiving another chance, but the referees should have also picked up the flag for taking his helmet off. This was due to a breach in NFL rules.
According to NFL norms, players who take their helmets off on the field of play, in the end zone, for celebratory purpose or demonstrations, during altercations with officials or other players, or during any other situation, shall be penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Since the player got away with both the cases, the fans refereed to the situation as an act of nepotism with disappointment.
Another fan opined, “Chiefs got away with pass interference AND defensive back removing helmet to question the call. #SwiftEffect.”
Further comments include, “NFL isn’t going to be able to defend that. Brutal for the Vikings.”
“Taking your helmet off on the field is illegal too I thought?”, another user wrote.
There were also counters about the overturn like, “Uncatchable ball. Not DPI which is why it was overturned. I can’t explain the helmet issue.”
Vikings’ coach Kevin O’Connell seemed to be on the same page with the fans as he told the reporters following their loss, “When the flag came out in the first place, I was not surprised in that moment that was called a flag. I’m trying to figure out where and when that veered the other way. It is what it is. We got to overcome whatever the adversity is and we didn’t do enough of that today.”
Overall, the unfavorable situation surpassed several commentaries in the media about the Kansas City Chiefs.
What is your take on the entire fiasco? Share with us below.
