Before becoming ESPN’s flamboyant poster boy, Pat McAfee spent eight loyal seasons in Indianapolis. Indy embraced him in 2010 during his lowest point, creating a lifelong bond. Today, as an analyst, he maintains strict broadcast neutrality and regularly tears into Indy’s missteps. That objectivity vanished in Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs when a glaring bad call handed Kansas City an unfair edge. But the former Colts Punter wasn’t going to let that slide.

In the fourth quarter, Daniel Jones threw a short pass to Keenan Allen on a third-and-six, who was tackled at the 24-yard line. However, the Colts didn’t get a first down. The Colts challenged the spot, but the ruling stood.

“Hey… WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON @nfl,” wrote McAfee on X while the game was still on. 

“Oh, that looks like he gets to the 24,” went the play-by-play commentator. “I think that’s a first down.”

As a 14-year NFL veteran, Keenan Allen executed his assignment to perfection: he ran a clean route to the sticks on third-and-six, secured the catch, and immediately used his veteran awareness to stretch the ball past the line to gain. Yet despite the clear effort, Allen finished Sunday’s 33-30 overtime loss to the Chiefs with just one catch on five targets for five yards. His sudden involvement stemmed from necessity after Alec Pierce suffered a heel injury in the first half, exposing the exact depth concerns that led Indianapolis to sign Allen in the first place.

While the accomplished possession receiver brings reliable hands, he offers little after the catch at this stage of his career. Dating back to last season with the Chargers, the 34-year-old is mired in a 12-game touchdown drought, exceeding 44 receiving yards just once in that stretch. With Pierce potentially sidelined, Allen could be thrust into a starting role, but snapping his personal funk won’t come easy in Week 3 against a tough Texans defense.

As it turns out, this is not the only time in the Sunday game that the referees got called out. Colts quarterback Daniel Jones tried to make a running play on the right side of the field. But the Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton and cornerback La’Jarius Sneed rained on his plans. Jones took a big hit after being tackled by Bolton. The play ended with him going out of bounds with the ball, but no penalty was called by the officials.

The officiating crew for this game consisted of head referee Clete Blakeman, down judge Andy Warner, umpire Scott Walker, and others.

With nearly two decades of NFL experience, Blakeman is one of the league’s most experienced active referees. He entered the NFL as a field judge in 2008 before moving into the referee role in 2010. His postseason résumé includes assignments in multiple playoff games, including Super Bowl 50.

The Colts also nearly did not have a crucial play for them as the game went into overtime. The Chiefs already extended the lead by three points, and the Colts got possession. Jones threw a 48-yard bomb to Laquon Treadwell, and the ball came out of his hands after it was down. It was initially ruled a fumble, and Arrowhead roared.

It was only after review that Treadwell was ruled to have been brought down by contact, and the Colts were able to tie the score 30-30 in that drive with a field goal. But the Indy fandom on the internet was still fuming with anger at the Allen ruling. 

Indy fans call out officiating bias

“The bottom ref literally started near the first down marker with his hand up but as he walked to the ball he subtracted like 1-2 yards what a joke, one fan wrote.”

“Tell me again that the refs aren’t just corrupt as hell.  I’m not even a big Indy fan, but how could they argue this isn’t a first,” another fan added.

“This is actually worse than the missed Commanders TD earlier today. How can they keep getting away with blatantly blowing these decisions????” a fan questioned.

Including this, week 2 saw another controversial officiating call which affected the team’s momentum. In the third quarter of the Cowboys-Commanders matchup, QB Marcus Mariota pushed a 35-yard shot downfield to Dyami Brown, who appeared to track the ball down for a stunning touchdown. Though officials initially signaled an incomplete pass, replay review showed Brown corralling the catch and securing his feet in-bounds, prompting Washington to launch a challenge.

Upon further review, command central upheld the original call, ruling that Brown failed to maintain possession through ground contact. However, FOX Sports rules analyst Dean Blandino sharply disputed the officiated breakdown:

“I believe what they are ruling is that they couldn’t determine if he had control when he hit the ground,” Blandino said. “To me, the left knee is in, he has control, slight movement is not a loss of control. That’s a touchdown in my opinion.”

“#Rigged That’s a first down and it isn’t even close, the fact they didn’t overturn the call on the field is a crime!” read a comment.

Another fan didn’t mince words and said, “Just shameless f****** yet again to favor the Chiefs. Absolute clown s***.”

“Refs doing everything they can to help the Chiefs,” an upset fan wrote. 

Things yet again went in Kansas City’s favor on Sunday as they secured a 33-30 win over Indianapolis, with a field goal on the final drive. The Colts head home frustrated, left to wonder whether a favorable ruling from the referees could have changed the outcome. McAfee sure will have some things to say about the game the next time he goes live on his show.