Chargers robbed Chiefs on at least one mistake by NFL officials

In this story:
Who says the Kansas City Chiefs get all the calls?
The Los Angeles Chargers certainly pulled a heist on at least one major play during Sunday’s game against the Chiefs at Arrowhead.
In the first half, what was well on the way to being a massive connection inside the 20-yard line from Patrick Mahomes to Tyquan Thornton didn’t happen.
Chargers breakout defender Cam Hart, after all, got there early and made sure of it, likely being more than happy to take a yellow flag from officials in the process.
But no flag, much to the chagrin of onlookers:
This not being called a DPI in the Chargers-Chiefs game is wild.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) December 14, 2025
That's a bear-hug right there.
Wow. pic.twitter.com/SgAUHMQHQz
Early contact from the Chargers on this deep ball throw by Mahomes to Thorton. Refs keep the flags in their pocket on this one pic.twitter.com/ID5tRvZIXJ
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) December 14, 2025
That wasn’t the only apparent heist on the day, either.
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Later in the game, on a Justin Herbert touchdown pass to rookie KeAndre Lambert-Smith, onlookers noticed that the score was at least somewhat debatable.
The standard review process after a score, though, didn’t seem to find any issue with it:
Another questionable call for the Chiefs vs Chargers game.
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) December 14, 2025
This touchdown catch was bobble and didn't look like it was fully secured before going out of bounds. Refs barely looked at this, and quickly confirmed it a touchdown pic.twitter.com/dBBPApxeib
Hart’s pass breakup was much more controversial, clearly. But for those who dislike NFL officiating and all of its faults, this is somewhere in the range of 10 points at stake on two plays. The Hart situation might’ve led to at least a Chiefs field goal.
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But hey, that’s today’s NFL, where the quality of officiating is very much a by-the-down mess. The Chargers have plenty of questionable calls that went against them this year they could bring up to counteract this.
But…the Chargers also won’t complain that they entered Arrowhead Stadium with a chance to help eliminate the Chiefs from playoff contention with a win while keeping their own playoff and even AFC West ambitions alive in the process.
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Chris Roling has covered the NFL since 2010 with stints at Bleacher Report, USA TODAY Sports Media Group and others. Raised a Bengals fan in the '90s, the Andy Dalton era was smooth sailing by comparison. He graduated from the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University and remains in Athens.
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