Will the Refs Screw the Eagles Again?
Feb. 4, 2025
In a corporate world filled with empty suits, the emptiest is a smug con man named Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner.
For some stupid reason, I actually thought Goodell was taking seriously the outcry across the country about officials who have favored the Chiefs over the past few years in a way that is statistically almost impossible.
I was wrong, of course. Not only did the staggering numbers that surfaced about the one-sided nature of the officiating in favor of Taylor Swift’s favorite team not impress the commissioner, they actually got him to launch a counter-attack.
A week before the rematch of the Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl of two years ago, Goodell scoffed at the notion that his league would support an effort by the refs to help KC build the NFL brand.
“That’s a ridiculous theory,” He said, “for anyone who might take it seriously.”
Ridiculous? Really?
I had a standard response on WIP when someone in the sports world looked down on the fans. I would always say: “They do know the games are televised, don’t they?”
We all saw the phantom pass-interference call against James Bradberry that paved the way to the Chiefs’ comeback in Super Bowl 57. We all witnessed the bogus holding calls that swayed the outcome of the 49ers-Chiefs game last year. No need to take my word for this. There are videos everywhere on the Internet of these injustices.
Here are some other facts – not theories – about the recent work of the officiating crews handling Chiefs games.
- The Chiefs have won 17 consecutive one-possession games, an NFL record. Many of those victories were helped by favorable late calls.
- In 12 playoff games since 2021, the Chiefs had more penalties called against them than their opponents zero times. Zero.
- Patrick Mahomes has received three times as many roughing-the-passer penalties in the postseason as all of the other NFL quarterbacks. At no point has his brazen flopping received any punishment by the refs.
- Over the past four postseasons, the Chiefs have received the benefit of 22 personal foul penalties, compared to 5 for their opponents.
- The most recent example, an absurd call against Houston in which two defenders slammed into each other while Mahomes lay beneath them, set off a tirade by ESPN analyst Troy Aikman. Later, the NFL supported the call.
There are a dozen or so more stats like this rippling through the Internet but you get the point. It is most definitely not “ridiculous” to conclude that the Chiefs are profiting handsomely from biased officials, regardless of whether that prejudice is conscious or subconscious.
In fact, statistically, it is ridiculous not to conclude that something is very wrong here. My only hope for Sunday is that the game is officiated fairly, if for no other reason than the topic has now become a national debate.
“These officials are outstanding people – both men and women – and they go through a lot to become officials,” Goodell said. “It’s a tough job, a really hard job . . . . I’ve never seen a more dedicated group of people than NFL officials to getting it right, to doing the best job they possibly can, and I’m incredibly proud of them.”
By the way, empty-suited drivel like this earned Roger Goodell an estimated $64-million last season in his 19th year as commissioner.
Now, that’s what I would call ridiculous.
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I realize most media types would cringe at making the main thrust of their pre-Super Bowl blog post the officiating, but I was never swayed by what the pack was doing anyway. Many of them reside in the back pocket of the NFL.
Nevertheless, I would be remiss if I didn’t offer a brief analysis of the matchup on Sunday in New Orleans, especially because this is the first time since 1981 that I honestly believe the Eagles have the better team in the Super Bowl.
They won against all odds seven years ago, and they were outmanned when they came close in 2023. The Patriots were definitely better in 2005. The Birds were heavy favorites against the Raiders in 1981. Ugh.
When I was watching Buffalo mount their comeback in the AFC Championship Game, all I could think was, how is KC going to stop Saquon Barkley from boring holes in the middle of their defense when James Cook averaged 6.5 yards per carry against the Chiefs?
Josh Allen is such a running threat, he enhanced the effectiveness of Woods, you say? The last time I checked, Jalen Hurts could run pretty well, too. And Buffalo has no weapons like A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert to catch the ball.
On the other side of the ball, Mahomes is admittedly one of the greats (despite the help of the refs), but there may be no better quarterback to prepare the Birds this time than the one they just neutralized, Washington’s Jayden Daniels.
If the Eagles take Travis Kelce out of the third-down equation, the Chiefs are going to need more than the refs to keep the game close. Other than Kelce and Mahomes, who scares you on that KC offense?
The bottom line is, the Eagles are much more talented. You don’t win 15 out of the last 16 games with luck.
Do I have concerns? Sure. I’m an Eagles fan.
I worry about the coaching matchup. Despite my deep dislike for Andy Reid, he is smarter than Nick Sirianni. (So is Swoop, for that matter.) But the coordinators are terrific, so maybe Sirianni can just stand on the sideline and practice his postgame victory speech.
And I’m a bit concerned about the Birds not having that monumental home-field advantage that they have had for the past two months. Eagles fans travel well, but not at $4,000 a seat.
Finally, if the game comes down to a kick, we will all be holding our breath when Josh Elliott aims for the middle of the goal posts. He has been erratic all season. Not now,
please.
In the end, though, I don’t think it will be that close. This is an Eagles team of destiny. See you at the parade.
Eagles 31, Chiefs 20,
(In the interest of full disclosure, I predicted the Eagles would win five games this season and Nick Sirianni would get fired. So whatever you do, don’t base any sports bets on my analysis here.)
Go Birds!!!