Refs missed call on Chargers

The NFL has acknowledged that the playoff-bound San Diego Chargers should have been penalized on the final play of regulation in Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Chiefs kicker Ryan Succop missed a 41-yard field goal attempt with four seconds left in regulation, a kick that could have eliminated the Chargers while vaulting the Pittsburgh Steelers into the playoffs.

AP Photo/Denis PoroyRyan Succop’s missed 41-yard field goal try against the Chargers should have been retaken, and from 5 yards closer, but the refs missed a call, Pro Football Talk reported Sunday night.

San Diego beat Kansas City 27-24 in overtime to clinch the AFC’s second wild card.

But based on a new rule this season, the Chargers should have been flagged for illegal formation prior to Succop’s missed field goal, a 5-yard penalty that would have given Kansas City a 36-yard game-winning attempt.

“On the play, San Diego lined up with seven men on one side of the snapper,” the league said in a statement released Monday morning.