Referees missed blatant penalty in Chiefs' game-winning drive over Chargers

The Kansas City Chiefs continue finding new ways to win close games. In heartbreaking fashion for the LA Chargers, the Chiefs clinched the AFC West on Sunday Night Football by doinking the game-winning field goal off the left upright and into the kicking net.

Any other team in the NFL and that ball bounces away from the goalpost and is no good. But it's the Chiefs.

The Chargers had plenty of chances to stop the Chiefs before the chip-shot field goal, though. Patrick Mahomes converted three different third downs to extend Kansas City's last drive, ultimately putting the team in field goal range. It was the full Chiefs experience on primetime... including the shoddy officiating.

Facing a second and eight from the Chargers' 44-yard-line with 3:28 in the game, Mahomes avoided initial pressure, stepped up in the pocket, and scrambled out to the 34-yard-line to officially put Kansas City in field goal range. While this wasn't the biggest play of the drive, it was the play that allowed Kansas City to go into clock-killing mode with the intention of kicking the game-winning field goal.

And it never should have happened. Somehow, some way, the referees missed one of the most blatant holding calls of the year on Chargers' edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu. With a correct call, the Chiefs would have been backed up to second and 18 from their own 46.

Referees yet again miss an obvious penalty on the Chiefs, leading to the Chargers' loss

Anything could have happened after this was properly called. Knowing the Chiefs, they would have found a new and creative way to move the ball down the field to beat the Chargers in heartbreaking fashion.

But is certainly would have made life much harder on Mahomes and the offense.

To be fair, the Chargers failed to execute when the game was on the line and that contributed just as much, if not more, to the loss than the missed holding call. Cameron Dicker, who has been rock-solid all season, forgot how to kick the ball and allowed Kansas City to start from its own 40.

On the biggest third-down play of the game, second-year linebacker Daiyan Henley had Mahomes dead to rights in the backfield. Instead of playing the ball and just looking to break up a pass to keep the Chiefs from converting, Henley smelled blood and went for the kill.

Mahomes sidestepped Henley like a supervillain and delivered a strike to Travis Kelce for the first down. If Henley had played it properly the Chargers would have at least gotten the ball back with a chance to win.

The Chargers didn't execute and the referees did not do them any favors. It is impossible to beat the Chiefs when that is the case. It turns out this game wasn't much different from the last matchup.