The referees actually ... screwed the Patriots? That doesn’t sound right

New England seemingly gets a little extra shine from the officials on Sundays. Tom Brady tends to get a little extra consideration when it comes to roughing the passer penalties. Bill Belichick’s gravitas seems to make him a little more persuasive when it comes to changing a referee’s mind than other coaches.

But in a marquee Week 14 game against the Chiefs, the Patriots were on the unfortunate side of three bad calls that had a significant impact on the game’s finish. All came in the second half, and at least one directly wiped a New England touchdown off the board in a game the Pats eventually lost 23-16.

While it’s exaggeration to suggest these calls definitively cost the Patriots a win — especially against a Chiefs team capable of flipping a game on its ear — there’s no doubt New England’s complaints about missed calls have their merit. Let’s look at the three big missed calls that helped keep the Pats from clinching a playoff spot in Week 14.

The first bad call came at the tail end of the third quarter with Kansas City threatening to expand its lead. As Kelce reversed field in an effort to gain extra yards after a third-down reception, a pair of Patriots converged to bring him down. Devin McCourty punched the ball loose in the process, and it was scooped up by Stephon Gilmore for what promised to be a lengthy return — and possibly a touchdown.

Instead, officials ruled Kelce down before the ball was jostled loose, whistling the play dead:

Bill Belichick used his final challenge of the game to force a review — this will be important later — that gave New England the ball at its own 43-yard line.

It appeared the Patriots would make that lost yardage a moot point after driving into Chiefs territory and then getting a momentum-swinging touchdown from wideout N’Keal Harry ... only for the rookie to be ruled out of bounds before he reached the end zone. Upon review, Harry was a full two inches from the sideline on what should have been ruled a scoring play:

Belichick, who’d gone 1-of-2 on his challenges before the third quarter came to an end, had none remaining to rectify this mistake. New England had to settle for a field goal three plays later to make the score 23-16.

The Patriots still had hope, however. Their surging defense held Kansas City’s explosive offense to back-to-back three-and-outs to set up a potential game-tying drive as the clock wound down on the fourth quarter. Then, on third-and-6 from the Chiefs’ 29, the NFL’s complete inability to consistently or effectively call pass interference penalties cost New England a big gain:

Dorsett, who finished the game without a reception, was clearly contacted before the ball could reach him by cornerback Kendall Fuller — something he expressed to reporters after the game. Again, Belichick couldn’t contest the no-call because he was out of challenges, and even if he did, it may not have mattered. Pass interference non-calls have rarely been overturned this fall.

Rather than first-and-goal from the 6-yard line the Patriots had to rely on a Tom Brady fourth-down scramble to keep their hopes on a tie game alive. Three plays with varying success left New England facing fourth-and-3 from the Kansas City 5-yard line — a position that could have resulted in a game-tying chip shot field goal had Harry’s touchdown counted, or if Gilmore’s fumble recovery had pushed the Pats deep into Chiefs’ territory at the end of the third quarter.

Instead, Brady forced a pass to Julian Edelman, which was expertly defended by Bashaud Breeland (who has also intercepted the 42-year-old earlier in the game). The Chiefs got the ball back, and three kneeldowns later escaped with their first win over the Pats in the Patrick Mahomes era.

Referee Jerome Boger addressed the media after the game, but his explanation for Harry’s uncalled touchdown was far from satisfying.

The longtime official didn’t address any of the other concerns from the game, including Kelce’s fumble, Dorsett’s uncalled interference, or a potential late hit that sent Patrick Mahomes skittering into his team’s coolers after a shove from Donte Hightower.

Even so, Boger was one of the few people involved willing to talk about at least one of the mistakes that marred the final half of a showdown between two of the AFC’s top teams. Patriots special teams captain Matthew Slater refused to discuss the officiating because he wasn’t sure he’d be able to do it without being fined for his criticism. Belichick, as is tradition, was tight-lipped before moving on to the next topic at his postgame press conference.

In the end, some bad calls stripped the Patriots of some opportunities, but a sloppy first half and an offense that took entirely too long to wake up was just as harmful as three missed calls. Even though it failed to clinch a playoff spot Sunday, New England still controls its own destiny in the AFC East and can ultimately use the loss as fuel through the postseason just like last year’s defeat at the hands of the Miami Miracle. That helped create the “nobody believed in us” inner narrative that no one really bought outside of Foxborough, but still propelled the Pats to a Super Bowl win nonetheless.

And if they don’t, well at least Patriot fans got a decade’s worth of counter-arguments to “New England gets all the calls.”