Remember when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said leading up to Super Bowl LVII that officiating in the league had never been better?
If not, here’s a refresher.
“I think for us, when you look at officiating, I don’t think it’s ever been better in the league,” Goodell told reporters Wednesday during his annual Super Bowl week news conference. “There are over 42,000 plays in a season. Multiple infractions could occur on any play. Take that out. Extrapolate that. That’s hundreds, if not millions of potential fouls, and our officials do an extraordinary job of getting those.”
Well, that take aged rather poorly Sunday and it only took about 17 minutes of game action as the Kansas City Chiefs faced the Philadelphia Eagles.
On third-and-8 with 13:35 left in the second quarter, officials missed a call as Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster ran across the middle of the field against Eagles cornerback James Bradberry. Bradberry hooked the arm of Smith-Schuster before the pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes reached the wideout. It prompted many to think the Chiefs pass-catcher was held with Smith-Schuster clearly having the same reaction after the play.
You can watch it here:
Given the obvious importance of the contest and timeliness of the call, it wasn’t the best look for either Goodell or the officiating team. Mahomes and company ultimately punted the ball on the next play while a flag would have helped Kansas City’s offense remain on the field.
