Referees. Cowboys get the phantom tripping call; Bengals get royally screwed

[TwoCentPlain]

Refs almost stole the game from the Cowboys. Refs made sure the Bengals were not winning that game (or covering/not covering the spread). The refs are either getting sloppier or just plain don't care how obvious they are.
.
How does a ref call intentional grounding on this play? QB getting hit, ball crosses the LOS, and there is a receiver in the area. 10 Yards and loss of down.



How does a ref not call offsides on this play?

 

[plymkr]

The NFL doesn’t want to upset Taylor Swift.

 

[Redsfan_83]

Very very little being discussed over at ESPN/Disney about this play, and the answer as to why? Well, it directly benefited KC and their entourage. If this is Patty, no call is made and his biligerent complaining about everything football related has soured me on him lately

 

[LovinItAll]

And the problem is that they can never allow penalties to be reviewed or the game would take forever and, imo, would start to become unwatchable. No idea how to correct these bad calls.

 

[Rayman70]

outcomes are steered to a desired degree. The refs are a great way to do it.Big money is at stake. It makes sense. Cincy was never gonna win that game at KC. The league badly needs Mahomes to be relevant. Cincy is a hard sell in the playoffs but Andy Reid ,Kelce, Taylor Swift, the swifties, and Mahomes are Cha-ching box office money makers. Lets not act surprised. We are smart in here. I feel for Cincy.

 

[TwoCentPlain]

For those who say the refs don't fix games, I sure would like to hear an explanation on the above two plays.
Doesn't get much more obvious.

 

[Rayman70]

Very very little being discussed over at ESPN/Disney about this play, and the answer as to why? Well, it directly benefited KC and their entourage. If this is Patty, no call is made and his biligerent complaining about everything football related has soured me on him lately

u nailed it.

 

[Rayman70]

For those who say the refs don't fix games, I sure would like to hear an explanation on the above two plays.
Doesn't get much more obvious.

they aint even trying to hide it anymore.

 

[Rayman70]

The NFL doesn’t want to upset Taylor Swift.

sounds funny but u arent wrong.

 

[fivetwos]

They really need to have someone in the booth at each game that fixes the obvious stuff.

I guess they like having the attention even if it’s negative but it sure would be nice to get it right.

It’s not rigged! Look at the people they have chasing world class athletes around and have to make a split second decision. Not many would be great at it consistently.

Most fans don’t see the egregious/obvious stuff until replay. The refs are gonna miss some too.

The big question….why do they REFUSE to use the same technology to fix it that points out the mistake in the first place to everyone else…replay.

Even with that it seems like….sometimes “New York” is watching, but sometimes they aren’t. Really?

Maybe they want to maintain a certain amount of control, but sadly, the actual answer is probably that since it can’t make the owners any more money, they don’t want to bother discussing getting it right.

 

[CowboyStar88]

The NFL doesn’t want to upset Taylor Swift.

Honestly you wanna put pressure on the NFL get the swifties on your side. They don’t stand a chance.

 

[Established1971]

People have been complaining about the refs since the start on replay on tv (and even to some degree before that) and will do so for a hundred more years until they find a way to do it with A.I. refs or something. Nothing different in 2023, they are human, all the people who complain would not do a better job if they were a ref.

 

[big dog cowboy]

How does a ref call intentional grounding on this play? QB getting hit, ball crosses the LOS, and there is a receiver in the area. 10 Yards and loss of down.

 

[plymkr]

Honestly you wanna put pressure on the NFL get the swifties on your side. They don’t stand a chance.

Hell hath no fury like a swiftie scorned.

 

[Flamma]

For those who say the refs don't fix games, I sure would like to hear an explanation on the above two plays.
Doesn't get much more obvious.

I can explain the top two.

The ref just went by the rule. The pass didn't have a realistic chance at being caught. The QB was being touched, but did that have a direct impact on the throw?

Going way back, A QB named Kilmer was being dragged down by Randy White. Kilmer throws it at the feet of his WR and still gets an intentional grounding call. That penalty is very subjective.

On lining up in the neutral zone. I see that all the time. Evey game I watch I see that on multiple occasions. They call it when they want to call it.

I don't know if the NFL rigs games. But due to the inconsistency, the refs can certainly alter games if they wanted to. How close do they watch the refs gambling habits?