CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore thought Josh Allen got enough yardage for a first down on a fourth-down quarterback sneak early in the fourth quarter and head coach Sean McDermott felt the same way.
Unfortunately for McDermott, Allen and the Bills, the officiating crew saw things differently. Allen was marked just short on the field and the call stood after a replay. After the game, McDermott said at his press conference that he didn’t know what views were used for replay, but the ones he saw in the stadium backed up his feeling that Allen picked up the yard he needed.
“I thought he had it,” McDermott said. “Just short of the line was actually the first down, what it looked like to me when it was sitting next to me with the marker. Just inside that white stripe was the first down. And it looked like he got to it. That’s all I can say.”
The Bills were up 22-21 at the time and the Chiefs went back in front on the ensuing drive, so McDermott employed a little understatement when he said it was “a big call” and that it’s tough when games hinge on such decisions.
