Every show has a sideshow that distracts from the main plot.
Dramas have the romance, comedies have one person who seems to lack brain cells and the NFL has the referees. They are always a topic of discussion, for better or worse.
Making mistakes is just the nature of the beast, especially in a fast-paced game involving plenty of people. Human error is bound to happen.
With high stakes in the postseason, those errors become magnified. And that’s precisely what happened on Sunday in the AFC and NFC championship games.
Here’s a look at some of the more noteworthy calls and non-calls up for debate.
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NFL refs controversial calls round-up
Here’s a look at the controversial calls, or non-calls, from championship Sunday, in order:
DeVonta Smith catch
It didn’t take long for the referees to become part of the discussion on Sunday. Smith caught a 20-yard pass for a first down in the first quarter against the Commanders, but whether he caught the ball in bounds remains a mystery.
Smith’s right foot was in the air after he made the catch, but no definitive angle of it coming down in bounds was shown. Philadelphia rushed to the line and got a play off before Washington could challenge. The Eagles would score a touchdown on the drive to take a 14-3 lead.
Marshon Lattimore penalties
Lattimore didn’t have a great day at the office in Philadelphia. One particular sequence in the second quarter summed up his afternoon.
He was flagged for pass interference on Smith in the end zone, but only after the pass fell incomplete. In fairness to the referee, it was the right call, but the timing is what had people talking.
The Eagles would score on the next play to make matters worse for the cornerback. While Jalen Hurts was being pushed into the end zone, A.J. Brown and Lattimore would get into a tussle.
Both players engaged in a fight, with Brown eventually removing Lattimore’s helmet. Washington was the only team flagged on the play.
The Eagles elected to enforce the penalty on the two-point conversion attempt, which they failed on.
Eagles being ‘awarded’ a score
The ‘Tush Push’ play has been controversial for years and Sunday’s game might be the breaking point. A typically unstoppable play, the Commanders were helpless in trying to get a much-needed stop.
Trailing 34-23 early in the fourth quarter, Philadelphia was set up about a yard from the goal line. Frankie Luvu leaped over the line, Troy Polamalu style, multiple times in an effort to time the snap perfectly.
He failed miserably and referee Shawn Hochuli had enough. Following their third-straight encroachment penalty and fourth in five plays, Hochuli warned Washington that he could award the touchdown to the Eagles for a ‘palpably unfair act.’
Hurts would score on the next play, giving his team a 41-23 lead with 12 minutes to go. Still, Hochuli’s announcement will remain in the memory of NFL fans for a long time.
Jalen Carter hit on Tyler Biadasz
The final issue from a refereeing standpoint in the NFC championship game came with under six minutes to go. It’s probably safe to say that Carter and Biadasz won’t be friends anytime soon, especially after Sunday.
Carter was flagged for encroachment before halftime when he attempted to jump the snap and poked the Commanders’ center in the eyes instead.
As the fourth quarter wound down, the two exchanged another moment. This time, Carter swung at Biadasz, which knocked him out of the game. Carter was not flagged on the play.
Xavier Worthy catch/non-catch
With 3:13 remaining in the first half, Patrick Mahomes was under pressure on third-and-5 when he tossed up a prayer in the direction of Worthy and Hollywood Brown.
Worthy ended up coming down with the ball alongside Buffalo Bills’ safety, Cole Bishop.
The Bills challenged the play since the ball hit the ground, but the referees stood with the ruling on the field after review.
Tie goes to the offense, which is why Worthy was awarded possession. Despite the ball hitting the ground, the officials determined it didn’t move enough to warrant overturning the call. Even if it was overturned, Buffalo was flagged for holding on the play, meaning it would’ve been a first down for Kansas City anyway.
The Chiefs would score on the drive to go up 21-10.
Travis Kelce taunting
Just three plays later, Mahomes was waltzing into the end zone for a one-yard rushing score.
Damar Hamlin tackled the quarterback into the end zone, which Kelce took exception to. He got in Hamlin’s face and had something to say. The Bills’ Jordan Phillips didn’t like that and was flagged for unnecessary roughness. Kansas City opted to enforce the penalty on the PAT, limiting the damage for Buffalo.
Josh Allen’s first down/non-first down
The one-sided rivalry between the Chiefs and Bills is known for a couple of things: Kansas City wins, Buffalo’s sadness and forcing the NFL to make changes. After the overtime fiasco in 2022, the league changed the playoff rules. Both teams now possess the ball in overtime.
If the NFL elects to put a tracker in the ball to determine the spot going forward, it will be likely thanks to this game.
Up by one early in the fourth quarter, the Bills opted to try a Philadelphia-inspired ‘Tush Push’ with Allen to pick up the first down. Unlike the Eagles though Allen was stopped. At least, that’s what the ruling on the field ended up being.
The officials on both sides of the field came running in with very different spots but eventually settled on a spot that was a Buffalo turnover on downs. The replay didn’t show where the ball was in the pile, and they stood with the initial call.
The assumption can be made that Allen secured the first down, but they wouldn’t overturn the play without definitive evidence showing where the ball was. Kansas City would go on to score a touchdown on that drive, taking a 29-22 lead. Buffalo would tie but never regain the lead.
While the play didn’t directly lose them the game, the Bills went from likely adding at least three points to surrendering eight, an 11-point swing. In a three-point contest, this pivotal play might’ve been the difference.
Flag confusion at end of Bills-Chiefs
Before setting the Super Bowl 59 matchup, we needed one last controversial moment to discuss for two weeks.
On fourth-and-five, Allen was under heavy pressure when he was forced to throw one up and hope for the best. Allen gave Dalton Kincaid a chance to answer his prayer, but the second-year tight end couldn’t haul it in.
CBS’ Jim Nantz noted there was a flag on the play, giving a little hope to the Buffalo faithful they might’ve been bailed out.
Turns out, there was no flag on the play.
However, Nantz wasn’t the only one to say that.
Kevin Harlan said on the radio there was a flag down. However, Harlan and his broadcast partner, Jason McCourty speculated the marker was for the Bills’ Dion Dawkins, who removed his helmet after the play.
The radio duo maintained that the penalty came after the play, something the TV crew took a moment to clarify. Flag or not, the Chiefs ended up putting on the finishing touches, setting up a Super Bowl matchup against the Eagles in New Orleans.
Super Bowl 59’s referee, Ron Torbert, will hope to remain out of the spotlight unlike his colleagues on Sunday.