Controversial Joe Mixon Fumble Overlooked Late in Bengals AFC Title Win

Was the running back down by contact when he flipped the ball in celebration?

Cincinnati is heading to its third Super Bowl in franchise history, the first since January 1989. However, the historic victory for the Bengals was not without late game controversy in overtime.

With the game tied at 24 in overtime, and Cincinnati possessing the football on the Kansas City 25-yard line, Bengals running back Joe Mixon took the second down handoff off the left side of the formation. He cut back up the middle for a gain of 13 yards to the 12-yard line.

Sounds easy enough, right?

Wrong.

Upon reviewing the replay, it appeared that Mixon fell down untouched, and immediately flipped the ball in celebration of his big play. However, since he wasn’t touched, it was technically a live ball, which means it could have been ruled a fumble with an immediate recovery by the Chiefs.

Joe Mixon fumble goes unnoticed with obvious KC recovery. Andy Reid challenges illegal formation instead. #AFCChampionship pic.twitter.com/mEOzOy57uA

— BKW 🤘 (@bravelonghorn) January 30, 2022

It appeared that Chiefs head coach Andy Reid wanted a review of the play, which CBS analyst Tony Romo explained was because of the potential for an illegal formation call. Instead, it is likely that Reid wanted a review of whether or not Mixon was touched before flipping the ball away in celebration.

In the NFL, a play in which a runner has been ruled down by contact can only be reversed to a fumble if there is an immediate recovery by the defense. In this case, there was an immediate recovery by Kansas City, so the play should have been reviewable.

However, in overtime, all replays must be initiated by the booth, as there are no coaches’ challenges. The play was not reviewed, and Bengals kicker Evan McPherson kicked the game-winning field goal a few plays later to send the franchise to the Super Bowl.

While the play is likely to leave a bad taste in the mouths of the Kansas City faithful, the Chiefs had plenty of missed opportunities, such as the Patrick Mahomes sack on the final offensive drive of regulation. It forced the Chiefs to kick a game-tying field goal instead of scoring a touchdown. Poor clock management also impacted Kansas City at the end of the first half, where the Chiefs came away with no points deep in the Bengals’ red zone.

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