NFL Suspends Entire Officiating Crew Led by Carl Cheffers After Controversial Chiefs–Bills Game

Kansas City, Missouri – November 4, 2025
The NFL has officially suspended the entire officiating crew led by veteran referee Carl Cheffers following the highly controversial Week 9 matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills, a game that ended in a 28–21 victory for Buffalo but has since ignited outrage across the league.
According to multiple league sources and officiating reports reviewed by Football Zebras, the Cheffers crew — including umpire Fred Bryan, down judge Sarah Thomas, line judge Carl Johnson, field judge Nate Jones, side judge Chad Hill, back judge Dino Paganelli, and replay official Roddy Ames — has been placed on indefinite suspension pending an internal review.

Gene Steratore has never seen something like this in his career:

Intentional grounding was called on Patrick Mahomes here, but the referees failed to see that the ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage. Andy Reid attempted to challenge the ruling on the field, only to be told… pic.twitter.com/NWeWynyoRG

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 2, 2025

The decision comes less than 48 hours after fans, analysts, and even former players blasted the crew’s handling of several pivotal moments that directly affected the outcome of the game. The most controversial came in the third quarter, when Patrick Mahomes was flagged for intentional grounding — despite replay clearly showing the ball was tipped by a Bills defender before hitting the turf. Head coach Andy Reid immediately attempted to challenge, but referee Carl Cheffers ruled the play “non-reviewable.” The call killed a promising drive that could have tied the game.
The outrage grew louder when footage of the play went viral on social media. The phrase “Bills vs Chiefs rigged” trended No. 1 on X (formerly Twitter), amassing more than 2.5 million posts within 24 hours. Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez publicly demanded an investigation, saying on CBS’s NFL Prime Night:

“The tape clearly shows the ball tipped a Bills defender’s hand. How can that be called intentional grounding? The NFL needs to review this crew — this isn’t just a mistake, it changed the game.”

League officials confirmed late Monday that NFL Senior VP of Officiating Walt Anderson initiated a full review after identifying “a series of critical officiating errors that failed to meet professional standards.” The suspension marks one of the rare occasions in modern NFL history where an entire crew has been disciplined following a single game.
While the NFL’s statement provided no timeline for reinstatement, the message was clear: accountability is non-negotiable. For Chiefs fans, however, the damage has already been done — a potential comeback halted, a result clouded by controversy, and yet another long night questioning where fairness truly stands in the modern NFL.