Kansas City Chiefs fans will likely get a real kick out of this one. After their Week 1 loss to KC, Baltimore Ravens All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley spoke out against the NFL officiating — which he felt was one-sided on September 5.
“The way [the illegal formation penalties were] going through the game, I really feel like they were trying to make an example and chose me to be the one to do that,” Stanley told reporters on Thursday evening (via Baltimore Banner media member Jonas Shaffer).
Adding: “As far as I saw, they weren’t doing it on both sides of the ball. And I know that I was lined up in good position a majority of those calls they made.”
After witnessing Stanley speak in person, Shaffer reported that the offensive lineman “didn’t feel the officiating was consistent tonight, especially in application of illegal-formation calls.”
Per Ravens.com editorial director Ryan Mink, “Stanley was flagged three times for illegal formations, including twice on Baltimore’s opening touchdown drive.” While Ravens right tackle Patrick Mekari was also penalized for an illegal formation once. The Chiefs were not penalized once for illegal formation during Week 1.
“We knew that they were going to make an emphasis on the illegal formations,” Stanley acknowledged earlier in his statement. “We were talking to refs [at] OTAs actually — we got pretty good clarification, we were doing a good job [at] OTAs, and then all of a sudden today, the refs… Whatever calls they made, it was their decision, but it didn’t feel consistent with what we were told from the other refs earlier on.”
Chiefs HC Andy Reid Says Ravens Getting Ball First Helped KC Prepare for Illegal Formation Penalties
If Stanley didn’t hint at special treatment, Chiefs Kingdom might even sympathize with him. After all, Kansas City right tackle Jawaan Taylor was seemingly targeted by the NFL referees in a similar fashion last season.
“It’s wild to me,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said at the time. “I mean, when you go back and look at the tablet, [Taylor and the opposing right tackle are] both [lined up] in the exact same spot.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Taylor led the NFL in penalty flags last year with 20.
After the 2024 Week 1 matchup between the Chiefs and Ravens, KC head coach Andy Reid was asked to weigh in on the illegal formation penalty and how it impacted Thursday’s game.
“Well, you saw the officials, they’ve warned us here now throughout,” Reid responded. “And they didn’t hold back from calling anything. I mean, they were pretty stingy on whether they were gonna nail ya.”
“I’m glad we were on defense first so that [the referees] could get their point across,” the Chiefs HC admitted jokingly. “It helped our [offensive] tackles. I didn’t have to say a lot.”
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson Refused to Admit TE Isaiah Likely Was Out of Bounds After Loss
Similar to Stanley, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson appeared frustrated with the officiating after the loss. But for a different reason.
“I thought it was a touchdown. I still think it’s a touchdown,” Jackson said defiantly during his postgame press conference — regarding tight end Isaiah Likely’s last second catch that was ruled out of bounds.
Unfortunately for Jackson and the Ravens, during an age of instant replay and technology, there is irrefutable evidence that Likely stepped out.
Mahomes did have some hilarious advice for the Ravens tight end, however, just in case he finds himself in a similar situation in the future.
