The Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs played a tight one in Week 5 with the Chiefs pulling off a 27-20 victory. To put it simply, the game was not without controversy.
One particular sequence in the decisive final minutes of the game had Vikings fans up in arms.
The Vikings faced a fourth-and-12 from the Kansas City 19-yard line when Kirk Cousins lobbed up a ball toward Jordan Addison in the endzone. The ball floated inside and Addison tried to come back for it but Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed was in the way. In the moment, the ref threw a flag for apparent pass interference.
However, the officials huddled up and emerged with a declaration that no pass interference had been committed.
The PI as originally called would have extended the Vikings' drive and put them right at the goal line with a chance to tie. Rescinding the flag was a huge moment in the game.
All the while, fans noted that Sneed took off his helmet while arguing with the officials after the initial flag. Removing your helmet in the field of play is a penalty. But the refs just told the defender to put his helmet back on and never dropped a flag.
Technically, removing your helmet on the field is an unsportsmanlike conduct foul. If the Chiefs had been hit with that penalty, they would have gained possession but started at the 12-yard line instead of the 24. Since the Vikings forced a punt and got the ball back with 1:07 remaining at their own 19-yard line, those yards might have mattered.
Some Vikings fans were convinced the game was rigged. Others just couldn't believe the calls. Everyone was fuming either way.
Vikings fans call out NFL refs for calls that aided Chiefs
In the end, Cousins and company couldn't find the endzone when they needed to. The quarterback took a sack before he could let loose a Hail Mary attempt.
