NFL Officiating Crew - Jason Behnken/Associated Press
The NFL has grown so much since the 1966 merger between the AFL-NFL. The one constant growing pain that never seems to go away is the inconsistency of NFL officiating crews.
The star quarterbacks have always seemed to receive the majority of these calls. It really got outrageous when Tom Brady was playing in the 21st century, and it is still going on now.
(QB) Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs
While Brady’s playing days may be over, the Kansas City Chiefs have a new generational talent at quarterback: Patrick Mahomes.
He burster onto the scene in 2018 when he led the team in red to the AFC Championship game, ironically losing to Brady and the New England Patriots.
The next year, Mahomes and the Chiefs won their first Super Bowl together over the San Francisco 49ers.
Since then, the dynamic quarterback has become the new golden child, and his team seems to benefit from calls that go his way.
Baltimore Ravens @ Kansas City Chiefs
Last Thursday, the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Baltimore Ravens in the 2024 Thursday Night kickoff game.
The Chiefs just raised their second consecutive championship banner and are now playing for the NFL’s first-ever three-peat.
So what do the guys in stripes do? They inconsistently miss two illegal formation penalties on Juwan Taylor (the most penalized player in the league in 2023).
Then they make three of the same calls on Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley.
If the penalty issues weren’t bad enough, what about the Steve Spagnuolo Clown Show?
Right before halftime, the Chiefs’ Defensive Coordinator foolishly ran down the sideline to call a timeout before the Ravens could snap the ball.
The only issue is that the head coach is the only person allowed to call a timeout.
The whistle was blown, allowing the Chiefs to line up in a better formation and not be penalized for violating NFL rules.
Do we really have to sit here and do this again? With grown men on the field, who are supposed to make the right calls consistently?
It’s simple: The refs don’t care. They’re just going by their own intuitions. Are they favoring the team that is trying for a third straight Super Bowl win?
As a sports fan and writer, I think we will always call these out. Therefore, the refs should make an attempt to learn and know the rules and not be one-sided.
Call-Up Send-Down System
One solution would be to use the NHL and MLB call-up send-down philosophy.
In the NHL and MLB, the pro team has a minor league affiliate to which they can call up players and send struggling players to the minors.
What if the UFL and the NFL did the same thing with their Officiating Crew?
The UFL is a Pro Spring football league where last-chance players and newer referees play a full year. Hopefully, their goal is to make it back to the NFL.
While players have had their NFL opportunities, so have the referees. The referees who have done well in the Spring Pro ball have earned their way into officiating in NFL games.
What if the bad NFL referees get demoted by having to work in the UFL to earn their way back?
When Will The NFL Do Something?
They’re giving a platform to protect the integrity of the game. Instead, they tend to pick and choose where and when not to enforce rules.
We’ll never completely solve this problem, but it takes a village to come together and figure out why.
My question goes out to Mr. Roger Goodell: “When are you going to hold these NFL officials accountable?”
For another interesting Sports story, please check out:
NFL Brings in Pregame Locker Room and In-Game Interviews Taken from the UFL
