It was only a matter of time before the refs became the story of Super Bowl 59.
Only one drive, in fact. A questionable offensive pass interference penalty ruined a Jalen Hurts-to-A.J. Brown 32-yard completion on the opening drive. It didn't do much to change the "refs are helping the Chiefs" narrative, but the story flipped moments later.
If there's one thing worse than watching the Chiefs get all the calls, it's the Eagles benefitting from the ref's bad decisions.
Philadelphia caught a huge break after Hurts threw an incompletion to Dallas Goedert on 3rd-and-5. The officials deemed Trent McDuffie had committed an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Eagles' tight end, costing them 15 yards and handing Philadelphia a fresh set of downs. Three plays later, Hurts scored the game's opening touchdown on a "tush push."
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The world is watching and wants to see an entertaining contest without the refs getting involved (and ideally an Eagles loss).
That includes Dallas Cowboys All-Pro Micah Parsons.
Micah Parsons says what everyone is thinking about controversial Eagles call
The NFL typically favors offense. Parsons understands this better than anyone. Not only did he dislike the soft penalty, but he believes it should lead to a rule change.
"This should be a reviewable call!!! It's the Super Bowl!! This a s--- call!" Parsons posted.
Overreactions to Super Bowl and playoff moments often lead to NFL rule changes, so it's not out of the question. And he's not wrong. Why shouldn't coaches have the option to review a call like that? At the very least, a quick replay assist would prevent such dramatic bad calls. It has such a huge swing on the outcome of the game.
Parsons isn't just speaking as a football fan but on behalf of every defensive player in the league.
He's had to endure plenty of bad calls against the Cowboys' defense over the years. It may have helped the Eagles in Super Bowl 59, but it will hopefully lead to a necessary change.