NFL fans have a deeply-held belief that the league’s officials favor the Kansas City Chiefs. Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL Referees Association dismissed any rumors of such in the leadup to Super Bowl LIX. Then, on the first drive of the game, fans had something to gripe about.
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Facing 4th-and-2 from midfield, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts uncorked a beautiful deep pass to wide receiver A.J. Brown. Brown made a running grab on the sideline for what appeared to be a 31-yard gain. However, an offensive pass interference penalty on Brown wiped out the conversion.
AJ Brown called for offensive pass interference. Tom Brady hates the call pic.twitter.com/0Ywf22lebZ
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) February 9, 2025
FOX commentator and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady wasn’t pleased about the flag. He believed the contact was minimal and did not justify offensive pass interference.
“Oh! Don’t like that one bit. This is too critical of a game.”
FOX NFL rules analyst Mike Pereira agreed with Brady’s take. Many big names, including ESPN personalities Ryan Clark, Pat McAfee and Stephen A. Smith, unsurprisingly shared the same opinion.
Welp!! Let the they “cheat for the Chiefs” stories start writing themselves because that’s a trash Call!
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) February 9, 2025
Can’t call that in the Super Bowl… on a 4th down
YIKES
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 9, 2025
Oh come on! You cannot call that pass interference call vs AJ Brown. That is just awful. So this is the kind of game it’s gonna be? Damn!
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) February 9, 2025
AND IT BEGINS pic.twitter.com/0YNpv7ynox
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) February 9, 2025
Unreal. Unbelievable. Just an awful call. It’s the freakin Super Bowl.
— Kevin Negandhi (@KevinNegandhi) February 9, 2025
Philadelphia punted on the possession, then forced Kansas City to do the same. The Eagles scored a touchdown on the next possession following a questionable unnecessary roughness call that went in their favor.
Chiefs now called for unnecessary roughness… pic.twitter.com/AB7Lbiv7ND
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) February 10, 2025
COOPER DEJEAN PICK TO THE HOUSE!
: #SBLIX on FOX
: Tubi + NFL app pic.twitter.com/y4Q4bGTHE2— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2025
Philadelphia went on to beat Kansas City 40-22 to win the Super Bowl. Rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean – who turned 22 on Sunday itself – gave the Eagles their three-possession advantage with a 38-yard pick-six. Jalen Hurts was named the Super Bowl MVP after 16 completions on 22 passes for 221 yards, two touchdown passes, and one interception, having also added 11 carries for 72 yards and another rushing touchdown.
