A false start on Jaylon Moore erased a Chiefs winner with 4 seconds left. Here is what Reid, Mahomes and Moore said and where the AFC West stands.
As of Nov. 2, 2026, the Denver Broncos sit alone atop the AFC West at 6-2 after beating the Kansas City Chiefs 28-24 on Sunday, Nov. 1. The play everyone is still arguing about came with four seconds left: a false start on Chiefs right tackle Jaylon Moore that erased what looked like a game-winning touchdown. Here is what happened, what the people involved said, and what the standings look like now.
Was the Chiefs' last touchdown really taken off the board?
Yes. According to the AP game story, Kansas City faced fourth-and-goal from the Denver 1-yard line, and Patrick Mahomes threw to Rashee Rice over the middle for what he thought was the winner. Officials had flagged Moore for a false start, so it didn't count.
The penalty pushed the Chiefs back five yards. On the do-over, Malcolm Roach broke through alongside Nik Bonitto and sacked Mahomes for a 6-yard loss, and the clock ran out.
What did Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and Jaylon Moore say?
Reid said he disagreed with the call. "I didn't see it," he told reporters, per NBC Sports' Pro Football Talk. "That's one man's opinion. I saw him move his head, but I didn't see a false start."
Mahomes, quoted by AP, didn't fight the call. "At the end of the day, you got to go with whatever's called," he said. "But a lot of times in those big moments, the little stuff doesn't get called like that."
Moore took the blame without arguing the details. "It was called. There's nothing else we can do about it now. So, it was on me," he said, as quoted by A to Z Sports from The Athletic's reporting.
What exactly was the false start?
Descriptions differ, and we haven't reviewed the broadcast footage ourselves. Pro Football Talk says Moore appeared to twitch his leg before the snap. A to Z Sports describes his right foot moving slightly, with his heel rocking back as he turned his head to look at Mahomes. Both reports agree on one point: a head turn by itself isn't a false start, but movement that suggests the snap is coming is.
As of Monday morning, none of the reports we read included a statement from the NFL or the officiating crew explaining the call.
Was the penalty the only reason Kansas City lost?
No, and this part gets lost in the noise. The Chiefs led 24-13 early in the fourth quarter. Denver then scored 15 straight points: a 2-yard Nix touchdown pass to Nate Adkins, a two-point conversion, and a 5-yard Jonah Coleman run with 1:56 left.
In between, Harrison Butker missed a 54-yard field goal wide right in steady rain with about 2 1/2 minutes left, one play after Alex Singleton sacked Mahomes. Kansas City also finished with 11 penalties for 105 yards, according to ESPN's box score, against six for 45 for Denver.
The individual numbers were not the problem. Mahomes finished 30 of 41 for 321 yards and three touchdowns, per AP. Nix was 20 of 32 for 222 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. The AP also noted that Sean Payton earned his 200th career win.
Who leads the AFC West now, and what happens next?
Denver is 6-2 and Kansas City is 5-2, so the Broncos lead by a half game. The Chiefs have lost two straight, following a 20-3 loss at Seattle on Oct. 25, per ESPN's schedule data.
Both teams are back on the field Sunday, Nov. 8, at 1 p.m. ET. Kansas City hosts the New York Jets, and Denver visits the Carolina Panthers. The AP says Denver is 10 for 48 on third down over its last four games, all wins.
The head-to-head race is also finished. Kansas City won 31-10 on Sept. 14 and Denver won on Sunday. ESPN's schedules show no third meeting this season, so the series is split 1-1 and the division will come down to everything else on the schedule.
Confirmed versus not confirmed
- Confirmed: the 28-24 final, the false start flag on Moore, the 6-yard sack on the final play, and the 6-2 and 5-2 records.
- Disputed: whether the movement was enough for a false start. Reid says he didn't see one; reports citing the replay describe leg or foot movement.
- Not reported: any league explanation of the call, or any discipline for Reid's comments.
Our take
This is analysis, not reporting. The flag was subtle, and it's fair for Chiefs fans to be annoyed that it came at that moment. But Kansas City handed Denver the chance to win by losing an 11-point lead, taking a sack that backed up a field goal attempt, and committing 11 penalties. The Chiefs would be wise to spend this week fixing the penalties rather than rewatching one flag.
Related reading
Picture credit: Denver Broncos
