Pat Surtain II's father disgusted by NFL referees for questionable calls during Broncos' 16-14 loss to Chiefs
The Denver Broncos came extremely close to one of the biggest upsets of the season. The team played the Kansas City Chiefs away from home, with Patrick Mahomes' team still undefeated and looking to make history with the first 17-0 season. Denver, however, had other plans.
The visitors played a close game, led in many different moments and, in the final play of the game, losing 16-14, all they had to do was convert a 35-yard field goal to make it 17-16 and end the Chiefs' undefeated sequence. But Will Lutz's kick was blocked, and Kansas City was 9-0 at the end of the day.
During the game, plenty of questionable calls had NFL fans complaining on Twitter about the referees' level. One of those complaints, however, had even more importance: former defensive back Patrick Surtain, father of Broncos superstar Patrick Surtain II, called out Brad Allen's crew for some of the calls:
With their second straight loss, Denver fell to a 5-5 record and lost ground in the AFC Wild Card race. However, it's important to notice that this was a major improvement from Week 9, when they were no match for the Baltimore Ravens, another AFC powerhouse, and lost 41-10.
Which calls upset Denver Broncos fans against the Chiefs?
Although every fan base will always try to point out specific plays to say the referees were against their team, some of the calls made against Sean Payton's team on Sunday deserve an explanation from Brad Allen and his crewmates.
As EDGE Nik Bonitto came free to a third-down sack on quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the referees threw a flag in the secondary and called safety Brandon Jones for illegal contact. The penalty gave Kansas City a new set of downs, and the drive ended with a touchdown.
Another questionable second-quarter moment happened when Mahomes was caught talking to the referees. The hot mic caught the quarterback wanting to know whether a defender was close to him:
The penalty ended up changing the outcome of the game, while Mahomes' words had many fans calling the league "rigged". Controversy will follow in the upcoming days, and Broncos fans will see this as a big missed opportunity: Denver has lost 17 out of its last 18 meetings against Kansas City.