Ref defends roughing penalty that drew Chiefs' ire

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Referee Carl Cheffers said helium followed the roughing the passer regularisation erstwhile helium penalized Chiefs antiaircraft tackle Chris Jones precocious successful the archetypal fractional of Kansas City's come-from-behind 30-29 victory implicit the Las Vegas Raiders connected Monday night.

The Chiefs had conscionable scored to trim their shortage to 17-7 erstwhile Jones stripped the shot from Raiders backmost Derek Carr conscionable earlier halftime. Jones landed connected Carr portion besides coming up with the shot -- replays showed it was intelligibly escaped and that Jones cleanly recovered it -- but Cheffers threw a emblem for roughing the passer.

Cheffers, successful a excavation study pursuing the game, explained that helium saw Jones onshore connected Carr with his afloat assemblage value portion the backmost was successful the pocket.

Cheffers said Carr "gets afloat extortion of each aspects of what we springiness the backmost successful a passing posture. So erstwhile helium was tackled, my ruling was the defender landed connected him with afloat assemblage weight. The backmost is protected from being tackled with afloat assemblage weight."

Cheffers said the information Jones took the shot distant from Carr was irrelevant.

"[Carr] gets passing extortion until helium tin support himself,'' Cheffers said. "Just arsenic if helium had thrown the ball, helium inactive gets protection. ... That extends until he's nary longer successful power of the ball.''

The Chiefs were irate astatine the penalty, which happened with little than 2 minutes to spell successful the fractional and was not reviewed.

Chiefs manager Andy Reid stormed disconnected the sideline to argue. And aft the teams traded tract goals successful the last minutes, leaving the Raiders up 20-10, Reid cornered Cheffers again arsenic the teams headed to the locker room.

"I got it disconnected my chest,'' Reid said. "I said what I needed to say.''

Kansas City backmost Patrick Mahomes said helium has seen Reid angrier -- but not astir an official's call.

Jones said helium braced himself with the limb not holding the shot truthful helium wouldn't onshore connected Carr with his afloat assemblage weight.

"How should I tackle people?" helium said. "How should I not rotation connected him? I'm trying my best. I'm 325 pounds, OK? What bash you privation maine to do? I'm going afloat velocity trying to get the quarterback.''

Jones referenced a roughing the passer penalty connected Atlanta Falcons antiaircraft tackle Grady Jarrett the time before, for a seemingly innocuous tackle of Tampa Bay backmost Tom Brady. The punishment gave the Buccaneers a archetypal down and allowed them to tally retired the timepiece successful a 21-15 victory, alternatively than giving the Falcons a accidental to thrust for the win.

"They person enactment specified an accent connected roughing the passer penalties that we've got to beryllium capable to reappraisal it successful the booth,'' Jones said. "That's the adjacent step. ... Sometimes looks tin beryllium deceiving. Now it's getting absurd. Now it's costing teams games.

"I really stripped the shot and gravity benignant of took maine to the ground. That's a roughing the passer telephone astatine a captious concern successful the game. It's 3rd down, and we're down 10 points. ... A batch of these roughing the passer calls would beryllium called backmost [after video review].''

Mahomes said the punishment connected Jones "wasn't the top telephone successful the world'' but added that helium understood the referee's dilemma.

"You privation to support the players and everything similar that successful each aspects of the game; but astatine the aforesaid time, determination comes a commonsense origin wherever guys are trying to play shot and trying to triumph shot games,'' Mahomes said. "Whenever it's blatant and they bash thing soiled to effort to wounded someone, you privation to marque definite that's called; but astatine the aforesaid time, you don't privation it to impact the shot crippled and alteration the outcome.''

The Associated Press contributed to this report.