NFL fans and experts were up in arms over an incredibly high number of penalty calls in Monday Night Football between the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills.
The officiating crew, led by referee Adrian Hill, called 22 penalties during the game – tied for the most penalties called in any game this season.
Adding insult to injury, the two teams combined for an outrageous 204 yards of penalties – leading some to believe they were seeing Hill on their screens more than some of the players.
Social media exploded with outrage – especially on the Jets’ final drive, where a controversial fumble was called an incomplete pass and three questionable penalties were called.
Referee Adrian Hill and his crew threw 22 flags for an incomprehensible 204 yards of penalties
‘The officials have ruined this game,’ wrote ESPN Jets beat writer Rich Cimini.
‘These refs are bias[ed] tonight,’ wrote Amazon analyst and former cornerback Richard Sherman. ‘I don’t use that lightly but it’s apparent. These aren’t my teams but these calls don’t make sense. I see similar contact from buffalo DBs and nothing being called.’
‘Happy the Refs have made tonight about themselves,’ wrote Barstool Sports podcaster Big Cat.
MSNBC’s Luke Russert, an avid Buffalo Bills fan, posted, ‘I’m speechless. The refs are truly dictating this game. PI on Bills is wiped out by a phantom “unnecessary roughness” penalty. Disgusting stuff in New Jersey. Park your bias, if you’re a fan of the game you hate this garbage.’
Former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson tweeted, ‘The damn refs are ruining the f***ing game my goodness.’
An irate Mina Kimes, the NFL analyst at ESPN, simply tweeted in all-caps, ‘ENOUGH’.
Even Joe Buck, the play-by-play commentator for the game, made a joke about Hill – saying that he’d ‘need his SAG (Screen Actor’s Guild) card after all of these calls tonight’ because of how often he was appearing on television.
Social media was up in arms about the high number of penalties being called in the game
Eventually, Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers essentially sealed the game for the Bills when he threw an interception to Taron Johnson to give Buffalo the ball back with a 23-20 lead – which they would hold for the win.
After that play, former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III posted, ‘Jets can’t catch a break even with help.’
In a post-game press conference, Rodgers called the penalties ‘ridiculous’ – adding, ‘Some of them seemed really bad, including the roughing the passer on me. That’s not roughing the passer.’
Rodgers even made a reference to the comedy show ‘South Park’, when he said, ‘We might as well play Sarcastaball if we’re going to call those things.’
It was a windswept game where kickers Tyler Bass and Greg Zuerlein both missed multiple kicks in the blustery conditions.
According to OptaStats, this was the first game where each team had 10+ penalties and missed multiple kicks (FG or extra points) since October 18, 1987.
In that game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Giants, the teams were using scab replacement players in the midst of an NFL strike.
