Jan 22, 2019 4 min read

The Chiefs have fired defensive coordinator Bob Sutton after a second-half collapse in the AFC championship game, including an overtime period in which Kansas City failed to stop the New England Patriots on what turned out to be the only possession.

The Patriots won the game 37-31 to reach their third consecutive Super Bowl.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid announced the firing in a statement Tuesday, one day after he said he was evaluating all aspects of the team. Reid declined to address Sutton specifically.

Sutton had been the defensive coordinator since 2013, when he joined Reid’s initial staff in Kansas City. The longtime college and NFL assistant had previously spent more than a decade with the New York Jets, including a stint as defensive coordinator.

Reid did not say whether his replacement would be promoted from within his current staff.

Suit asks for reversal

In the legal equivalent of a Hail Mary pass, two New Orleans Saints season ticket holders asked a judge on Tuesday to order the NFL commissioner to reverse the results of the NFC championship game that sent the Los Angeles Rams to the Super Bowl, or schedule a do-over.

Their lawsuit, filed in state court, says Commissioner Roger Goodell should implement a league rule governing “extraordinarily unfair acts.” Remedies include reversal of a game’s result or the rescheduling of a game – in its entirety or from the point when the act occurred.

At issue is the failure of officials to call interference or roughness penalties when a Rams player leveled a Saints receiver with a helmet-to-helmet hit at a crucial point in Sunday’s game. The NFL hasn’t yet responded. A hearing is tentatively set for Monday – six days before the Rams meet the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl in Atlanta.

“Why is the rule there if it’s not going to be implemented?” asked attorney Frank D’Amico, who filed the suit in state Civil District Court in New Orleans on behalf of Tommy Badeaux and Candis Lambert.

No penalty was called after the Rams’ Nickell Robey-Coleman hit Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis while a pass was in the air with less than two minutes to go in regulation on Sunday. A flag would have meant a first down for the Saints, who could have run down the clock and won the game with a field goal. Instead, the Saints kicked a go-ahead field goal with 1:41 left. The Rams came back to tie with a field goal before winning in overtime.

There appears to be no dispute that a penalty should have been called. Robey-Coleman later said he expected a flag. Saints coach Sean Payton said the NFL office acknowledged the error to him after the game.

The question is whether an officiating mistake – even an egregious one – is the type of “club action, non-participant interference, or calamity” that merits the remedy D’Amico’s clients seek.

Mike Pereira is among the doubters.

“I understand the frustration,” the former vice president of officiating for the NFL, now a Fox Sports analyst, said in an interview. But, he doesn’t believe the rule applies in this case.

Playing with

Brady’s eyes

NFL security is investigating whether a fan attempted to shine a laser into the face of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady during their AFC championship game victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.

Local television stations posted footage Tuesday that showed a green light flashing on Brady late in the Patriots’ 37-31 overtime victory. At least two instances occurred on their go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter, including a crucial 25-yard pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Laser pointers are banned at most sporting events because of the potential for distraction and safety reasons. The light can damage the retina in the eye after even a short period of time.

The NFL has dealt with the issue in the past, including a Monday night game in Mexico two years ago in which then-Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler was caught in the eye multiple times.