Dear the NFL,
The NFL is undoubtedly the United States’ most popular professional sports league, and an icon of the nation. The league keeps a high standard when it comes to competitiveness and fair games. However, recently, this has taken a significant downturn thanks to the questionable, and often flat out incompetent officiating by the referees.
For background, NFL games can be some of the most entertaining games in all of sports. Sometimes, these games can be finished with no interference and they go down as some of the most perfect games. That being said, most of the time this is unfortunately not the case.
Take for example Super Bowl LVII, which concluded the 2022 NFL season. The Chiefs and Eagles battled in a high scoring affair, with the game tied 35-35 on 3rd & 8 with less than 2 minutes remaining. The Chiefs had an incomplete pass, which would have set up a fourth down, forcing them to attempt a field goal and then give the ball back to the Eagles, giving them a chance for a game winning drive. However, a flag was thrown by referee Carl Cheffers, calling defensive holding on Eagles cornerback James Bradberry, giving the Chiefs a fresh set of downs and allowing them to run out the clock, winning the game 38-35. Without this call, the ending could have gone very differently. Fans were outraged by the call even though Cheffers vehemently held his ground that it was the correct call. Bradberry had only slightly grabbed the Chiefs receiver, Juju Smith-Schuster, which many analysts agreed was not necessary for a holding penalty, especially at that stage with so much on the line.
While some may argue that this call could have been correct, there are some calls that display total incompetence and leave no room for interpretation. In the 2018 NFC Championship Game, between the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams, the game was tied 20-20 with less than 2 minutes in regulation. The Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw an incomplete pass down the field, intended for Tommylee Lewis, but Lewis was hit by a Rams defender before the ball arrived, which is an obvious pass interference call and would’ve placed the ball deep in Rams territory and allowed the Saints to run out the clock and kick a field goal. However, the hit was not called by the referees. The Saints had to then settle for a field goal, giving the Rams time to go down the field and tie the game. In overtime, the Rams won off a game winning field goal, sending them to the Super Bowl. Rule analysts and the league confirmed that the call was a miss by the referees, and the intense backlash led the NFL to change their reviewing policies of pass interference. The league’s Senior Vice President of Officiating admitted they messed up. The implications of this call would have led to a different Super Bowl team representing the NFC. These two calls dramatically changed the outcome of the games they were a part of and is a reflection of pure incompetence by the referees.
This poor calling needs to change. It is ruining views and experiences and I think I can speak on the behalf of all fans that games must be fair again.
Thank you,
Mason Davret
McCarthy, Michael. “NFL Refs Are Ruining The TV Experience.”