Lateral or penalty? Bills catch a break when Chiefs don’t challenge a key early play

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen made a big play on his team’s first drive, but it perhaps should not have counted. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

Josh Allen had a creative play that helped the Buffalo Bills get a first down on his team’s first drive Sunday.

It also was probably an illegal play.

Allen was running on third-and-17 when he realized he wasn’t going to get the first down. So he turned to his left and threw it to running back Ty Johnson. Johnson got one yard away from the first-down marker, and then on fourth down the Bills went for it and Allen had a sneak for the first down.

The problem was even though Allen’s toss to Johnson looked like a lateral in real time, the slow-motion replay showed it was probably moving forward, albeit slightly. That would have made it a penalty since Allen was past the line of scrimmage.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid never challenged the play. He might have regretted that after the Bills got the first down and drove deep into Chiefs territory. The Bills’ drive stalled, but they did get a field goal to take an early 3-0 lead.

It also led to a weird statistical oddity. Johnson got 12 yards on the play but it didn’t count as an official carry, giving him 12 yards on no carries and an infinite average.

(Yahoo Sports)

It’s arguable the Bills should have been punting instead of getting a field goal. It was a close call but the Chiefs didn’t think it was worth a challenge.