Bills predictably get hosed by refs with questionable Xavier Worthy catch

NFL fans have come to expect thrills and swings of emotion when the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills face off, particularly when it's in the playoffs. Even in just the first two quarters of the AFC Championship Game, we saw more of the same there. Unfortunately, we also ran up on some early controversy at Arrowhead Stadium with a Xavier Worthy "catch" deep in the red zone amid calls that the refs have favored the Chiefs all postseason.

After pulling ahead with a touchdown from Worthy, 14-10, in the second quarter, the Chiefs got the ball back and were driving down the field. That's when Patrick Mahomes threw up a pretty ill-advised pass toward Worthy and the right side of the field but also toward two Bills defensive backs.

Cole Bishop high-pointed the ball much better than Worthy and went over the Kansas City wide receiver's head to make a play but they both came down to the ground jostling for possession. A slow-motion replay, however, showed that the ball hit the ground before Worthy got possession, which would've potentially ruled the ball incomplete.

So Bills head coach Sean McDermott threw the challenge flag. And lo and behold, the refs let the call of a Chiefs catch stand.

Bills get hosed after refs uphold Chiefs call on likely incomplete pass

The fact that the refs ruled this a completion in the first place likely saved the Chiefs in this instance. At the same time, there's a case to be made watching the replay (or that should've been made by the refs watching it) that Worthy only maintained possession because he and Bishop pinned the ball to the ground to make the play.

To make the optics of that even worse, though, the Bills were also flagged for defensive holding on the play. So even if the refs had ruled it an incompletion, it still would've been a fresh set of downs on the third-down play from Kansas City. Really, Buffalo couldn't win in that situation.

As the narrative that the refs are favoring the Chiefs has grown throughout the playoffs, though, the simple fact of the matter is that calls like this only give more fodder or credence to it. This was in all likelihood a 50-50 call that would've gone whichever way was called on the field in replay. However, the fact that it went to the Chiefs and set up a Mahomes touchdown run to take a 21-10 lead at the time makes it exponentially worse.

If there's a silver lining, though, Josh Allen and the Bills were able to answer quickly before halftime to cut into the deficit before going into the locker room. However, the Worthy "catch" will definitely sting.