Refs’ questionable Super Bowl 2025 calls went both ways
NEW ORLEANS — The third team that was under scrutiny in Super Bowl 2025 was the officiating crew.
After a postseason in which the perception grew that the NFL wanted the officials to call games to favor the Chiefs, it did not become a big issue in Sunday’s game.
The refs made some questionable calls, but they went both ways and the lopsided score made them inconsequential in the 40-22 Eagles win.
Before the score got out of hand, there were some calls that felt like they could have bearing on the game.
It started on the first drive of the game.
The Eagles completed a deep pass down the sideline to A.J. Brown on fourth-and-2, but Brown was flagged for offensive pass interference.
Brown did put his hand on the facemask of Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie, but it was questionable whether he affected his coverage.
“I try to tell myself before every game the calls have a way of evening themselves out, but sometimes in the heat of the moment it’s hard to convince yourself of that,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “Mad about that at first, but these guys are making split-second decisions. That was an all-star crew out there. They earned the right to be here at the Super Bowl and I thought they did a good job, regardless of what I thought about that one.”
The next call went the Eagles’ way.
Jalen Hurts threw a third-and-5 pass toward tight end Dallas Goedert, but it fell incomplete.
McDuffie was called for unnecessary roughness for hitting Goedert in the head, but it was not definitive.
Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins pointed out some calls went against the Chiefs on Sunday.
“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 said. “There was a lot of touchy calls. Are you going to report that? Are you going to talk about the refs now?”
The Eagles were also penalized for a false start on a field goal attempt when it appeared the Chiefs may have moved first.
The Eagles still made the longer field goal, but it would have given the Eagles a first down if the call went against the Chiefs.
The Eagles ended up with eight penalties. The Chiefs had seven.
As it turned out, this was a fitting end to Bryce Huff’s first season with the Eagles.
He was not in uniform for Super Bowl 2025, as he was inactive for the game.
Huff, 26, had a career-high 10 sacks for the Jets in 2023 and the Eagles viewed him as a worthy successor to Haason Reddick as a pass rusher, signing him to a three-year contract worth $51 million.
That turned out to be a rare bad signing by the Eagles. Huff played in 12 games and started only six, with minimal production: 2.5 sacks, five solo tackles and four quarterback hits.
The Eagles did not blitz once in this game, according to ESPN.
They still managed six sacks of Patrick Mahomes and recorded 11 quarterback hits.
Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs in rushing with 25 yards.
None of their running backs had double digits.
Kareem Hunt was next with nine yards.
