That’s certainly not a good look.
The NFL’s Wildcard Weekend has been in full swing, and so far, the favorites – or at least the higher seeds – have come through and delivered. The Texans beat up on the Chargers, the Ravens took care of business against the Steelers, and the Buffalo Bills looked dominant against the Denver Broncos.
However, there’s one thing that stood out from the game, and it wasn’t how confident Bills star quarterback looked as he diced up the Broncos defense. Instead, it was a no-call that occurred while the game was still relatively close. Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II undoubtedly held Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid, but the refs decided not to throw a flag.
As you can see here:
Josh Allen wanted a flag thrown on Pat Surtain II for holding Dalton Kincaid in the end zone. Bills had to settle for three points as a result. pic.twitter.com/HPDhfEIoVe
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) January 12, 2025
The Bills ended up settling for a field goal instead of what could have been a fresh set of downs from the goal line. If the game would have ended with a closer score, I’m sure that no call would have been heavily scrutinized.
The moment that has been scrutinized instead is when NFL referee Bill Vinovich took a moment out of the game to run off the field, over to the Bills bench, and personally chat (and presumably apologize) with Josh Allen for not throwing a flag on what was obviously a missed holding penalty.
Even if it was the polite thing to do, it certainly wasn’t the professional thing to do:
Bill Vinovich and Josh Allen having a chat pic.twitter.com/2LFbSXo6ua
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 12, 2025
Boy oh boy.
As you might imagine, the visual of a referee having a private chat with Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen fired up NFL fans. They took to social media to share their frustrations about the strange moment, while also making jokes about Patrick Mahomes (you knew those were coming, right?).
Take a look at the current uproar:
Hahaha. This is what you all think happens with the Chiefs, but actually happens with the Bills.
— Jason (@oneandonlyjzon) January 12, 2025
He’s like my bad Josh! I’ll get you on the next one 😂
— 🔥 CEO Branding Expert (@Ceo_Branding) January 12, 2025
I have never seen a referee huddle with a QB after a blatant missed call during a game. And so friendly! Never. https://t.co/JhNwmJInkG
— Don Van Natta Jr. (@DVNJr) January 12, 2025
Josh Allen is everything they accuse Patrick Mahomes of being pic.twitter.com/FqLhg9TvV8
— Otho Watson (@mdkcfvr) January 12, 2025
Yeah, officiating is fair in the NFL. What a joke.
— Jeffrey Marlowe (@DBFanInExile) January 12, 2025
This is pretty wild even with context
— Bengals Graphics (@BengalsGraphic5) January 12, 2025
It’s the tender touching for me 😍 https://t.co/rHPn6KI4Fw pic.twitter.com/FpzuTJPNzf
— Michael Hurley (@michaelFhurley) January 12, 2025
This is such a BAD LOOK for @NFLOfficiating.
And people wonder why fans think the NFL is scripted, fixed, & rigged. Its “optics” like this, that make the @NFL look not only bad, but unfair.
— FIRE GRIER & FUCK YOU ROSS! … 🐬⬆️ Always! (@STOP_Gumbytime) January 12, 2025
If this was Mahomes we might have had to shut down this website https://t.co/rNArZqfapO
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) January 12, 2025
What do you think? Suspicious… or no big deal?
