Did Chiefs get away with an obvious penalty on game-winning overtime TD vs Bucs?

The Kansas City Chiefs got away with again, escaping with a 30-24 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night. The two-time defending champs were outgained by almost a full yard per play, dealt with an injury scare to Patrick Mahomes and entered the fourth quarter down by seven points. But for the sixth time in eight games, K.C. wound up on the winning end of a one-score game, winning the coin toss to start OT and watching Mahomes promptly march the team down the field for a walk-off touchdown.

He had more than a little help from the officiating crew on that final drive, however, help that certainly won't do anything to debunk the narrative that the Chiefs get the benefit of the whistle more often than not.

Did Chiefs get away with false start just before game-winning TD vs. Bucs?

Mahomes and the Chiefs were methodically moving downfield in the extra session, chewing up over five minutes of clock and setting up a 2nd and five at Tampa Bay's six-yard line. It seemed inevitable that Kansas City was about to deliver the dagger, until right tackle Jawaan Taylor appeared to move well before the snap of the ball. It was about as clear-cut a false start as you're likely to see — and yet no flag came.

It's hard to say that this decided the game, or is the sole reason the Bucs lost; Tampa Bay has plenty of blame to go around for letting a marquee win slip through its fingers. But it still represented a major swing. If Taylor were flagged for a false start, the Chiefs would be faced with a 2nd and 10 at the 11, a tough situation even for a red-zone offense as ruthlessly efficient as Kansas City's. From there, it's very possible that Mahomes and Co. have to settle for a field goal, giving the Bucs the chance to either win the game with a touchdown or keep it alive with a field goal of their own. Instead, Mahomes found another quick completion to Travis Kelce, setting up a 3rd and 1 from the 2. Kareem Hunt punched it in on the very next play, and just like that, the Chiefs were 8-0.

Again, this is not the only reason why the Chiefs won. By this point, it's clear that Kansas City simply knows how to win tight games, and they were at it again on Monday: Mahomes made big plays in big moments throughout, helping his team finish 12-for-18 on third down and playing keep away from Tampa Bay's offense. There were plenty of opportunities for the Bucs to win this game, and they failed to take advantage of them. But if you came into Monday night thinking that Kansas City was less impressive than its perfect record would suggest, and that the Chiefs (coincidentally or not) got the benefit of an awfully friendly whistle), this would hardly convince you otherwise.