NOTICED: Kansas City Chiefs ‘broke NFL rules’ in Baltimore Ravens win –

The Kansas City Chiefs’ relationship with referees has become something of a touchy subject in certain corners of social media, and fuel was added to the fire on Thursday night.

The reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champions got their season off to a winning start on Thursday, defeating the Baltimore Ravens 27-20 at Arrowhead Stadium after a dramatic conclusion with a Isaiah Likely touchdown taken off the board as time expired.

Refs let assistant coach Steve Spagnuolo call a timeout instead of HC Andy Reid… #BALvsKC pic.twitter.com/TmCRdZzApt

— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) September 6, 2024

But while that decision was clear cut, with replays quickly confirming the tight end’s toe was out of bounds as he hauled in a pass from Lamar Jackson, there was another moment where the Chiefs definitively broke the rules and got away with it.

As the first half was nearing its conclusion, Jackson and the Ravens were driving deep in the Chiefs’ territory and had designs of scoring a go-ahead touchdown. The clock was stopped with nine seconds until the interval, and the Chiefs’ defense appeared disorganized as Jackson was ready to take the snap.

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was unhappy with the setup and charged down the sideline to call for a timeout. The moment was not unnoticed by former NFL referee Terry McAulay, NBC’s rules expert, who pointed out head coach Andy Reid is the only man on the Chiefs’ sideline who is allowed to call for a timeout.

With the clock stopped, he told the broadcast: “He can’t do that, it has to be the head coach that comes down. The assistant coach, nobody else can call a timeout on the sideline except the head coach.”

Spagnuolo was erroneously granted the timeout by the officials, who by the letter of the law should have ignored his desperate plea to get his defense in order. According to the league’s rules, however, if the timeout is incorrectly granted, it stands and the game is halted.

The move paid off for the Chiefs, who were able to get the Ravens’ offense off the field and force a Justin Tucker field goal to go in leading 13-10 at the half. They would be pushed all the way by the Ravens, but rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy proved to be the difference between the teams with two touchdowns – one through the air and one via a brilliantly designed run play that made the most of Worthy’s electric speed.