Bengals safety flops, fakes injury to avoid penalty vs Chiefs

The Cincinnati Bengals got away with an impressive flop and fake injury to avoid a penalty in the first half against the Chiefs on Sunday.

What do you do when you are about to have 13 players on the field on defense? Fake an injury, of course. That’s exactly what Cincinnati safety Jessie Bates III appeared to do during the second quarter of the Kansas City Chiefs‘ clash against the Bengals.

The Chiefs were driving down the field late in the first half as they looked to punch the ball into the end zone. The ball was on the two yard line and KC was ready to make a play when, inexplicably, Bates goes to ground in the end zone.

Cincinnati was trying to make a substitution and it looked like they were about to get caught with 13 players on the field, until Bates – who had appeared totally fine mere second before – took a rather theatrical fall.

His “injury” came at just the right time for the Bengals. The officials stopped the game for a medical timeout, and the Bengals were not penalized. After receiving “treatment” on the field, Bates then gingerly made his way from the field.

It was a frustrating moment for the Chiefs, an inexplicable dive with no other purpose than stopping the clock. There is no penalty for flopping in the NFL, but theoretically, the act could have drawn an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from the officiating crew.

Alas, it did not.

In the end, Bates’ actions mattered little. Three plays after the injury stoppage, Patrick Mahomes threw a short two-yard pass to Jerick McKinnon for a touchdown to bring the score to 14-10, Cincinnati’s way.