It didn't take long for the officials to make an unfortunate impact on Super Bowl LIX, as the Kansas City Chiefs were gifted a questionable offensive pass interference call against Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown. On a fourth-and-two, Jalen Hurts threw a deep ball down the sideline to Brown, his top wideout. Brown made a great play on the ball to haul in the catch, but unfortunately the officials deemed said call OPI.
AJ BROWN WITH THE FOURTH DOWN CATCH BUT OFFENSIVE PASS INTERFERENCE IS CALLED pic.twitter.com/Or4cjJi39x
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) February 9, 2025
The Chiefs script theories have been abundant during Kansas City's third straight Super Bowl run, and a call against the Eagles on their first drive of Super Bowl LIX won't help matters.
Even Tom Brady and FOX officiating analyst Mike Pereira, who typically remain neutral, were upset at the decision. It's just the latest in a long line of bad decisions which have gone in the Chiefs favor.
For more Super Bowl 59 updates, Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs news and more, check out FanSided's Super Bowl LIX Hub, your ultimate guide to the Big Game.
Philadelphia Eagles can't afford to be upset with refs in Super Bowl LIX
Now, the Eagles make a stop shortly thereafter and flipped the field on the Chiefs, so that ought to cancel out one bad decision. The Chiefs have won two straight Super Bowls – and are in search of a third – not due to the officials, but their tremendous decision-making in tough moments.
All we ask of Ron Torbert’s crew is consistency, and they average over one call more per game than the NFL average. This means they're a little quicker to the draw than other officials, so this will not be the last questionable call.
As we've seen for much of the last three seasons, the team left making excuses about officiating after the Super Bowl is rarely the winner. Nick Sirianni and the Eagles would be wise to leave one bad decision in the moment, and let their play do the talking.