Broncos say refs admitted blown delay of game no-call during Chiefs’ game-winning drive

A five-yard penalty should have slowed Kansas City’s momentum at a pivotal moment, but it never came.

Four plays before Kareem Hunt crashed into the end zone to give the Chiefs what turned out to be a game-winning fourth-quarter touchdown, Kansas City got away with one.

With three seconds to go before the two-minute warning Monday night, Patrick Mahomes turned a third-and-seven situation into a 35-yard pass to Demetrius Harris. The play pushed the drive down to the Denver 11-yard line and set up a thrilling comeback that gave the Chiefs a dominant position atop the AFC West — but it shouldn’t have happened.

Replays clearly showed the play clock had ticked away to zero before Mahomes could get his third down snap off.

What should have been the team’s third penalty in a four-play snap was overlooked by officials. Instead of losing five yards, Kansas City was clear to gain 35.

The Broncos know it happened. And they say the officials Monday night knew it happened, too.

“It definitely was at zero. The replay showed that,” linebacker Brandon Marshall told reporters after the game. “The ref told us that the ref that was supposed to be watching it just missed it. ... He told us that. The ref told us the guy that was supposed to be watching the clock just missed it.

”So maybe he got caught up in watching the game because it was a good game, but you’ve got to do your job. Come on, that was huge. That was big.”

Cornerback Chris Harris was also upset by the lack of a flag, noting that the one play wasn’t the reason the Broncos lost, but that it was still a “huge, huge, no-call.”

Did the missed delay of game really cost the Broncos that much?

The ensuing play sprang for 35 yards, so it’s not as though those missing -5 yards made a difference when it came to forcing a potential fourth down. The impact of that missed call depends on whether you think the Chiefs would have called the same play on third-and-12 that they did on third-and-seven.

Both are clear passing downs, but third-and-12 in a clear four-down situation may have increased the pressure on Mahomes to settle for a checkdown play to gain a few yards and set up a more manageable fourth down. At the same time, it’s not as though Mahomes was forcing a ball into a tight spot when he targeted Harris — his tight end was wide open downfield after finding a seam in the Broncos’ coverage. Run that play on third-and-12 or third-and-seven and it’s going to end the same way every time.

And even though the missed delay of game call led to Hunt’s lead-taking touchdown, Denver still had a chance to win this game in the final 99 seconds. In fact, Case Keenum’s overthrown of an open Demaryius Thomas was likely the only thing standing between a Bronco victory and a spot atop the division and a frustrating home defeat.

While the NFL screwed this one up, the ultimate impact the no-call had may have been negligible. Still, it’s a bad look for a roster of officials who’ve been a story in far too many games through a quarter of the season — and it’s given the Broncos a chip the Broncos they’ll have to carry with them the rest of the season.