Referee who worked Chiefs playoff game reportedly is retiring

For many Chiefs fans, this will be coming one game too late.

Referee Jeff Triplette drew the ire of Chiefs fans for twice blowing his whistle and calling forward progress on Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota, who appeared to fumble during Saturday’s AFC Wild Card Game.

The Chiefs lost 22-21, and some of Chiefs Kingdom blamed the officials.

NFL.com reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala reported that Triplette is planning to retire.

Kinkhabwala tweeted: “Referee Jeff Triplette, who worked yesterday’s ‪#Titans-‪#Chiefs Wild Card game, has told folks around him he's retiring from ‪@NFL officiating. And the heartfelt hugs he exchanged w/ his crew after dinner last night? Def looked like good-byes.”

Here is the tweet:

Mariota lost the ball after a sack by the Chiefs’ Derrick Johnson in the second quarter, and fumbled again on a botched two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter. It was ruled forward progress both times.

“The ruling was forward progress, so therefore it’s not reviewable in that situation,” referee Jeff Triplette told pool reporter Terez Paylor of The Kansas City Star about the Johnson sack.

This story was originally published January 7, 2018 at 12:29 PM.