Crooked Refs Fucked Joe Burrow, Bengals in the Super Bowl

 

Refs cost Joe Burrow, Bengals the Super Bowl with late flags.
John Healy

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There is nothing worse than when a game is dominated by the officiating, and for most of Sunday night that did not appear to be the case — with just three penalties called all game until the final two minutes.© Provided by Audacy

That’s when the officials called three more penalties, all on the Ram’s game-winning drive, which helped them inch closer to the end zone until Matthew Stafford found Cooper Kupp for a 1-yard touchdown.

Some of the calls the refs made were rather borderline, and that may be putting it generously.

The first penalty, and probably the most controversial one of the drive, came on a third-and-goal from the 8-yard line when Stafford missed Kupp on a throw over the middle.

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It appeared to be a monumental moment for the Bengals, who were one stop away from essentially clinching the Super Bowl, but in came a flag for a defensive holding penalty that gave the Rams a new set of downs.


The call is certainly questionable and it gave the Rams new life.

But, to make matters worse, the penalty should have never stood because it appeared as if multiple Rams false-started on the play but it was never called.



Had the false start been called, Stafford would have never even had the chance to make a play and the Rams would have been forced to replay third down from the 13-yard line, backing them up even farther from the end zone.


Instead, the Rams were now at the 4-yard line when Stafford connected with Kupp in the end zone when more flags came in. The Bengals were called for unnecessary roughness while the Rams were flagged for holding, which nullified the touchdown.

The very next play, another flag was thrown on an incomplete pass attempt to Kupp, with the Bengals penalized for pass interference and moving the Rams up to the 1-yard line to set up the game-winning score.

Many were not happy with the sequence of penalties, particularly Bengals fans who felt the refs had robbed them of an opportunity to win the Super Bowl.

Even Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd voiced frustration with the flags after the game.


Of course, the Bengals also benefitted from some suspect officiating earlier in the game.

On the first play of the second half, Joe Burrow connected with Tee Higgins for a 75-yard touchdown pass after Higgins got away with a face mask on Jalen Ramsey in order to get the separation.


The egregious missed call gave the Bengals the lead.

Perhaps the defensive holding late in the game was a makeup call, or just the world evening itself out.

Nonetheless, it is never a good thing when the referees are a storyline following a big game and that is what the NFL has on its hands here.