Kansas City Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo (Photo via JPAfootball/Twitter)
The Kansas City Chiefs can truly get away with anything.
Late in the first half of Thursday night’s opener, the Kansas City Chiefs needed a timeout because they were dealing with a defensive personnel problem on the field.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo decided to take matters into his own hands as he could be seen running down the sideline, signaling for a timeout.
The ref gave it to him.
There is a big problem there since only the Kansas City Chiefs head coach can call a timeout from the sideline.
The refs granted an illegal timeout with nine seconds left in the half and had time to regroup.
#Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo called a timeout… which is against the rules, but the timeout ended up being allowed.pic.twitter.com/PRxjZ1ayoe
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) September 6, 2024
The Chiefs would then force an incompletion as the Baltimore Ravens settled for a field goal.
NBC’s replays didn’t show what Andy Reid was doing at that time, so they showed Steve Spagnuolo. The network’s rules analyst, Terry McAulay, said on the broadcast that the refs allowing that timeout were wrong.
“He can’t do that,” McAulay said. “It has to be the head coach who comes down. Nobody else can call a timeout on the sideline except the head coach.”
Allowing The Kansas City Chiefs Timeout Could Factor In The Final Score Of Game
The Kansas City Chiefs were given a huge gift when refs allowed defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to call an illegal timeout.
Only the head coach is allowed to call a timeout from the sidelines.
The Chiefs were able to regroup on defense and force an incompletion that led to a field goal.
Had that timeout not been granted, the Ravens would likely have 14 points and be within a touchdown currently in the game.
