We regret to inform you that NFL referees are still NFL referees, and in the Super Bowl no less! They got started with the questionable calls pretty quickly, with a ticky-tacky unnecessary roughness call on Nickell Robey-Coleman for a tackle he made on Rex Burkhead.
NFL players are already calling out the referees in the Super Bowl
NFL referees, man.
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
The play itself was pretty unremarkable, with Robey-Coleman getting a solid stop in the backfield for a loss of 4 yards. But the referee called the 15-yard penalty for hitting in the head or neck area, taking the Patriots from a 3rd-and-18 to a first down.
Now how was Burkhead, a running back, the beneficiary of this call? Well, according to the referees, this was because Burkhead had just caught the ball and had not yet established himself as a runner, something we mainly hear about when it comes to quarterbacks.
NFL players are having NONE OF IT.
And of course, it’s also pretty funny that the call was on Robey-Coleman, who was the man who benefited from the pass interference no-call in the NFC Championship.
The Patriots would go on to miss a field goal after that call.
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