Andy Reid Critiques Officiating Following Thanksgiving Defeat
Penalties plagued the Kansas City Chiefs during their 31-28 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, November 27. The team faced a staggering 10 penalties, resulting in a loss of 119 yards, starkly contrasting with the Cowboys' seven penalties for just 50 yards.
Head coach Andy Reid voiced his displeasure with the officiating in a postgame press conference. “I’m not always going to agree with the call, but the calls were made,” he stated, acknowledging the physical style of play from Dallas receivers. “They’ve got some physical receivers, big, strong physical guys, and that’s the way they were playing.”
Reid described some of the penalties as “ticky-tack,” emphasizing that his players were striving to maintain leverage. “My guys were fighting to maintain leverage in that, and it’s just not the way I saw it, but it’s the way the referees saw it,” he remarked.
Despite his frustration with the officiating, Reid recognized the need for improvement within his team. “We’ve got to do better as coaches. We’ve got to do better as players. You go back to the drawing board and you keep working,” he added.
The defeat leaves Kansas City with a 6-6 record for the season and a disappointing 1-5 on the road. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Chiefs, who have appeared in five of the last six Super Bowls, now face a mere 39 percent chance of making the playoffs.
Reid's acknowledgment of officiating issues did not overshadow his focus on team performance. “Bottom line is we’re having too many penalties, and we have to make sure to take care of that,” he said firmly. “No excuses with it. We’re going to clean it up.”
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes echoed Reid's sentiments, highlighting the Chiefs' potential against top-tier teams. “We can beat anybody, but we’ve shown that we can lose to anybody,” he noted. “We’ve got to be more consistent. We’ve had big plays and we’ve had runs where we can really score at any time, but we’ve got to be consistent for four quarters, especially when you play good teams and they have a good offense.”
All six of Kansas City's losses this season have been by a single score. Former Eagles center Jason Kelce pointed out to his brother, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, that they are just a few fortunate bounces away from being one of the top teams in the AFC.
On their “New Heights” podcast episode from November 19, the Kelce brothers discussed their thoughts on the current season, expressing a preference for the 2025 team over the previous year's squad that finished 15-2 but lost in the Super Bowl.
Travis Kelce, now the franchise's all-time touchdown leader at age 36, concluded their discussion with optimism regarding playoff prospects. “I’m just a product of my environment and I love Kansas City for it,” he said. “Let’s go ahead and keep adding to that f***ing record baby and score some more touchdowns this year and try to get us into the playoffs this year.”
