Ball Don't Lie: 5 calls that screwed the Ravens with Super Bowl on the line

The Baltimore Ravens failed to make the Super Bowl thanks to a loss against the Kansas City Chiefs. Yet, in classic Chiefs fashion, there were some controversial calls which went against the Ravens in the midst of their AFC title defense.

For what it's worth, I am not here to cast any doubt on the legitimacy of this Chiefs team. They have been through the wringer, and frankly the Ravens didn't do enough offensively to earn a trip to the Super Bowl. However, whenever the officiating is a storyline, the NFL suffers. NFLrigged and a so-called script were trending at various points during the AFC Championship. It doesn't help that Taylor Swift was at the game to cheer on her boyfriend, Travis Kelce. For better or worse, fans will focus on these points. They are not fair, but I don't make the rules.

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were gifted a number of controversial calls in the 2023-24 AFC Championship. Let's go through them, one by one.

5. Did Zay Flowers actually fumble into the end zone?

Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers caught what looked to be a touchdown pass that would have narrowed the Baltimore deficit to just three points late in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, Flowers fulmbed into the end zone. It was the second error in judgement by Flowers in a matter of minutes.

The question here isn't whether Flowers fumbled -- I'm here to tell you he did. That doesn't change the fact that the Ravens were screwed over by an antiquated rule.

The rules committee will meet this offseason, and it's already been reported that the rule will be overturned. For now, though, it's unfortunately impacting games at the highest level.