Yes, George Kittle and the Niners were robbed on that pass interference call
By John Buhler
The officials made it about themselves in Super Bowl 54. George Kittle and the San Francisco 49ers were hosed on an awful offensive pass interference call.
At halftime of Super Bowl 54, the score was 10-10, but it should have been the San Francisco 49ers leading the Kansas City Chiefs. With 14 seconds left in the first half, 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo threw it deep to his favorite receiving option in tight end George Kittle for a huge gain. It put the 49ers in easy field-goal range, but the officials made it about themselves.
Instead of letting the 42-yard completion to the Kansas City 13-yard line stand, the zebras opted to throw some laundry on the field. Yes, Kittle got flagged for offensive pass interference on what would have been the coolest play of the first half.
https://twitter.com/OurSf49ers/status/1224137389842386944
Naturally, Twitter absolutely hated the call and rightfully so.
That was right OPI call on Kittle. Blame Kyle Shanahan for the 49ers not scoring on that possession, not the refs. You're in the Super Bowl. You have a chance for one last series before half to score points. You let the clock tick without calling timeout, inexplicably. Bad move.
— David Haugh (@DavidHaugh) February 3, 2020
Pass-interference review ... not executed.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 3, 2020
Pretty obvious pass interference. First big call and they get it right.
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) February 3, 2020
That was a great throw..and absolutely the right call
— trey wingo (@wingoz) February 3, 2020
also:
— Eric Edholm (@Eric_Edholm) February 3, 2020
trash call, c'mon
https://twitter.com/FieldYates/status/1224135546194272256
That's pretty ticky-tack against Kittle. I don't like that call at all.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) February 3, 2020
That is the worst penalty in the 100-year history of professional football. Get the hell out of here.
— Patrick Schmidt (@PatrickASchmidt) February 3, 2020
There was no way Kittle pushed off Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen. We want big plays and more importantly, we want to be entertained. Way to go, zebra. You made it about yourself, just like the New England Patriots during this fine Super Bowl Sunday.
Kittle is one of the two best tight ends in this game and he was denied of his signature moment in the Super Bowl. Kicker Robbie Gould was going to at the very least kick it through the uprights to give the 49ers a 13-10 lead into halftime. If Garappolo had one more big play up his sleeve, maybe the 49ers led by seven points at halftime. Instead, we have to deal with a tie that shouldn’t be.
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In short, if you are an official, don’t make it about yourself in big-time moments like this. Otherwise, Twitter and the fan base most negatively impacted by the horrendous call will rip you to shreds. It was a terrible call and everybody knows it.