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The officiating in the Titans-Chiefs game was a big point of discussion, which is never good if you’re a referee. Andy Reid was upset about some of the calls after the game, but refused to get himself in trouble.
“I don’t really have anything good to say there so I’m just going to stay away from any comments about those guys. I don’t want to get fined. It’s not worth it. Whatever,” Reid said via ProFootballTalk.
Mike Pereira, former official and later Vice President of Officiating for the NFL who covers officiating for FOX Sports, even said himself that it was a bad start to the postseason:
Horrible way to start the playoffs. I hate to say it but this was not a good performance by the crew. Teams and fans deserve better.
— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) January 7, 2018
Jeff Triplette was the lead official in question, and has been one of the more controversial ones in the NFL over the years.
In this particular game, the biggest one was whether or not Marcus Mariota had forward progress on a play that looked like a fumble.
Because the Titans retained possession on the play, they were able to get a field goal to make it a 14-3 game.
As it turns out, that play ended up being the difference in the Titans’ 22-21 victory after an abysmal first half.