Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs felt robbed after the officials called a penalty on what would have been a game-winning play with less than a minute left in their Sunday night clash against the Buffalo Bills, nullifying an incredible touchdown from Kadarius Toney after the wide receiver lined up offside before the snap. That touchdown play was (as Bills quarterback Josh Allen described it) “unbelievable,” with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce pulling off a lateral pass that juked the Buffalo defense.

After the Bills escaped with a 20-17 victory thanks to some help from the officials, the Chiefs, spearheaded by Mahomes, went scorched earth, expressing their frustration over what the Chiefs QB called a “f**king terrible” call. The game's officiating crew, led by Carl Cheffers, defended their decision to call offsides on Toney over what they deemed to be an “egregious enough” misalignment at the line of scrimmage.

“Correct,” Cheffers answered when asked whether Kadarius Toney warranted an offside call for an “egregious violation,” according to the Pool Report via Matt Derrick of Chiefs Digest. “If it's egregious enough, it would be beyond a warning. So really, regardless of whether or not he was warned during the day, if it was an egregious alignment to where he was over the ball… it would still be a foul.”

It's certainly subjective for referees to determine which kind of alignment over the ball is “egregious” enough to warrant a penalty, and this is now the primary point of contention for Patrick Mahomes who continues to be all up in arms over the call.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, meanwhile, explained that referees usually call out and warn players when they line up over the ball before the snap. However, Carl Cheffers explained that there's no rule stating that referees are obliged to do so.

“Ultimately, they are responsible for wherever they line up,” Cheffers added. “And certainly, no warning is required, especially if they are lined up so far offsides where they're actually blocking our view of the ball.”

The Chiefs will just have to brush this one off, no matter how difficult that task may be at the moment given Patrick Mahomes' sheer emotional investment in the entire thing.