Travis Kelce fine only adds to Bills frustrations with AFC Championship Game refs

Whether fair or not, it felt like all anyone could talk about coming out of the AFC Championship Game was the officiating. As the narrative that the refs were the 12th man for the Kansas City Chiefs gained further steam coming into another clash with the rival Buffalo Bills, there were some highly questionable calls that went in favor of the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champs that went on to punch another ticket to play on Super Sunday.

The most obvious blown calls were the dubious spots with first Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid and then Josh Allen, as well as the 50-50 call on the Xavier Worthy catch that resulted in a Chiefs touchdown eventually. However, there was another that, when you think about it, was a bit odd.

Kansas City's third touchdown of the affair came on the feet of Patrick Mahomes, who scampered in for a one-yard score. After the play, though, Bills defensive lineman Jordan Phillips was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after he ran up and pushed Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce after the touchdown.

However, the reason Phillips got involved with Kelce was that the tight end was in the face of Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin taunting him, which went completely uncalled.

And before you say that shouldn't have been called taunting, the NFL would actually disagree.

Travis Kelce fined for play that Bills were flagged for in AFC Championship Game

On Saturday as the NFL handed out its weekly round of fines for actions in the pervious week's game, Kelce was a part of that. The league's disciplinary committee fined the Chiefs tight end a cool $11,255 for taunting Hamlin and fellow defensive back Cole Bishop.

Now, it's important to note that the penalty called on Phillips didn't have a great effect on the outcome of the game. It wasn't like the Kincaid or Allen spots in how critical they were to the final score and how things played out for both the Chiefs and Bills. At the same time, it's certainly more fodder for the conspiracy theorists or Buffalo fans unhappy with how the officiating played out.

Even if this particular play wasn't integral in deciding the AFC Championship Game, it does feel fully indicative of why this has become such a giant narrative throughout the season and in the playoffs as well. It always seems like the Chiefs get away with and likewise benefit with just a hair too much.

That narrative isn't going anywhere as the Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles in a week in Super Bowl LIX. It's something that the Eagles are surely aware of, that NFL fans are watching eagle-eyed, and that will keep Bills fans up at night more so than they already were after the loss on conference championship Sunday.