Chiefs Get Break From Refs, Mike Tomlin Whiffs on Challenge
PITTSBURGH — A third-quarter connection between the Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Hollywood Brown appeared to first hit the ground, but was not spotted by officials on the way to a score that put the Chiefs up two scores on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Brown knelt as he hugged the pass, which looked as if it was trapped between the crook of his arm and the grass as he rolled under Cory Trice. Steelers safety DeShon Elliott signaled incomplete on the 12-yard pickup on 2nd-and-5 from Kansas City’s 41-yard line, a call the officials didn’t agree with.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin did not throw a challenge flag before the Chiefs went no-huddle and Mahomes found DeAndre Hopkins for a short gain. Three minutes, 9 seconds later after the apparent incompletion, Kareem Hunt surged in from two yards out to make it a 22-10 game.
Prior to halftime, replay assist swiftly overturned what at first appeared to be a 22-yard toe-tap grab on the right sideline by the Steelers’ Mike Williams.