NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The officials were a big storyline headed into the Super Bowl, thanks in part to social media conspiracy theories about favouritism toward the Kansas City Chiefs.
They were a big part of the first quarter of the game with both teams ending up on the wrong side of a close call. But in the end, none of the calls all game came close to proving decisive as Philadelphia dominated the game, winning 40-22 on Sunday night.
Unless you ask Chiefs receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
The veteran made it a point to let his frustrations be known that the Eagles were benefitting from the officials’ whistles.
“It’s my first year being with the Chiefs and I saw a lot of things in the media about the refs, but what are you all going to say now about the refs and us?” Hopkins told reporters. “There was a lot of touchy calls. Are you going to report that? Are you going to talk about the refs now?”
The first questionable call came on the opening drive of the game when the Philadelphia Eagles appeared to convert a fourth-and-2 from midfield with a 32-yard pass from Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown.
But the official immediately threw a flag because Brown shoved cornerback Trent McDuffie’s facemask. While there was some contact, Fox officiating analyst Mike Pereira said it shouldn’t have led to a flag.
Those kinds of close calls that have tended to go in Kansas City’s favour in recent playoff games have fueled the conspiracy theorists and have been a major topic all week. Commissioner Roger Goodell called the allegations “ridiculous” during a news conference Monday and the head of the officiating union called it “insulting.”
On Philadelphia’s next possession, the close call went the Eagles’ way. Hurts threw an incomplete pass to Dallas Goedert on third-and-5 from the Kansas City 42. But the officials once again threw a flag because McDuffie made contact with Goedert’s facemask and Pereira didn’t like that call either.
Three plays later, Hurts scored on a 1-yard run for the first score of the game.
The Eagles got help from another key third-down penalty on their next possession with Charles Omenihu getting called for lining up in the neutral zone, negating a third-down sack that would have forced a punt.
Philadelphia became the first team since at least the 2000 season to convert two third or fourth downs by penalty in the first quarter of a Super Bowl.
The Eagles also got bailed out by a questionable late hit on Saquon Barkley on an incomplete pass on second-and-26. But Philadelphia didn’t score on the drive.
The final penalty stats ended with Kansas City getting penalized seven times for 75 yards and Philadelphia getting penalized eight times for 59 yards — the ninth straight game that the Eagles had the edge in penalty yards.
