Seattle Seahawks v Kansas City Chiefs
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes made a grand entrance when it came to his NFL return against the Denver Broncos, but the star may have received some help from Travis Kelce that was missed by the referees. Fresh off a nine-month rehab process for a torn ACL, Mahomes scored the first touchdown of the game by using his legs.
ESPN’s Troy Aikman pointed to the highlight showing Kelce may have been holding a Broncos defender in the end zone. The referees appeared to have missed the holding call which would have negated the touchdown.
“At the end of this play, it looked like Travis Kelce might have gotten away with a hold, but Patrick Mahomes, he does not protect himself as he thought he might,” Aikman explained during the broadcast. “… Here’s a look at what looked to be a hold by Travis Kelce at the end of that play.”
ESPN rules analyst Russell Yurk agreed with Aikman that the Chiefs should have been called for a holding penalty.
“Yeah Troy, I agree with you,” Yurk noted. “You could see Travis puts his left arm out and restricts over the chest of the defender trying to make the tackle.
“And that prevents him from really being able to get there. …I think it’s tough for the officials to see, but it is a hold.”
The Chiefs Dominated the Broncos Thanks to Ken Walker’s Debut in Kansas City
It may have been a missed holding call, but it is hard to blame the refs for Denver’s underwhelming performance against Kansas City. The Chiefs’ dominance over the Broncos felt inevitable with Kansas City clearly looking like the better team in Week 1.
Aside from injuries to key players, it was all good news in Kansas City. Mahomes looked like himself and had no problem utilizing his legs to make plays.
New addition Ken Walker looked like the best player on the field for much of the game.
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Jonathan Adams is a veteran sports contributor covering the NFL, NBA and golf for Heavy.com. His work has been prominently featured on NFL.com, Yahoo Sports, Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated. More about Jonathan Adams
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