Week 12 has been a crazy week, and the Buffalo Bills’ matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles was no different. However, the officiating might have made an impact that will be talked about post-game.
What happened, and how significant were the mishaps?
Bills and Eagles Game Filled With Questionable Officiating
No Defensive Pass Interference
Darius Slay got away with one twice. With 4:57 to go in the first half, Slay tackled Trent Sherfield before the ball arrived. No flag was called. It led to a 4th-and-9, resulting in a Bills punt.
MORE: NFL Week 12 Winners and Losers
It happened again in overtime. On just the second play of overtime, Slay grabbed Diggs before the ball arrived, restricting his access to the football. There was no flag thrown. However, the Bills gained the first down on the next play with a 13-yard catch from Gabe Davis.
C’mon. This is blatant #Bills #BillsMafia #GoBills
— Anthony Cover 1 (@Pro__Ant) November 27, 2023
NFL fans obviously had quite a bit to say when reacting to the lack of penalties called on the Eagles.
One fan brought up the obvious comparisons to another game this season where the Eagles were not penalized once: “Miami knows all about not getting calls In Philly. NFL officiating is a joke”.
Former NFL player and current analyst Emmanuel Acho even chimed in against his former team, saying, “I love the Eagles, they elongated my NFL career, but has any call gone against them today!?”
No Horse Collar
The next missed call occurred with 1:25 to go in the second quarter when the Bills had the ball looking to extend a three-point lead. However, Haason Reddick got home with a pass rush. He put the pressure on Allen and brought him down, with Allen getting the pass off last second.
Refs did not call this a horse-collar tackle on Haason Reddick.
Thoughts? 🤔 #BillsMafia | #FlyEaglesFly
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) November 26, 2023
The miss here is how Allen was brought down. Reddick grabbed the jersey and committed a horse collar penalty that left Allen’s jersey a mess. There was a flag on the field — it was on Buffalo. The referees called intentional grounding on Allen, not a horse collar on Reddick.
CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore agreed with Allen’s assessment. He told viewers that Reddick should have been called for a horse-collar tackle after his takedown of Allen.
The call pushed Buffalo 13 yards back, putting them in a long third-and-goal play. The Bills threw an incompletion and missed a 34-yard field goal on fourth down.
According to Bills reporter Matt Parrino, referee Shawn Hochuli was asked about why the grounding penalty was called on Josh Allen and not the horse-collar tackle.
“We felt that the force was from the front of the collar and what pulled him down was not from the back. … he’s responsible for where the ball goes given that he started his throwing motion after he was contacted. So we didn’t feel like the ball was in the vicinity or the area of an eligible receiver.”
It was just the start of the game, but fans were already done with the officiating in this one.
“If you can’t call a horse collar penalty right in front of you on an all-pro QB, one that tore Josh Allen’s jersey—you either have money on the game or you’re incompetent. Fire that ref yesterday!” author Luke Russert said on social media.
“The ref is standing right there … and he doesn’t call a horsecollar on Josh Allen????? c’mon son,” SiriusXM Radio host Ashley Nicole Moss wrote.
In the first half, there were 10 penalties on Buffalo for 75 yards and one penalty for five yards on Philadelphia. The referee crew for the game was led by Shawn Hochuli. Since Nick Sirianni was hired, the Eagles are 4-0 in games where Hochuli is the head ref. They are also 4-0 against the spread.
let’s talk about NFL refs, part 362
the Eagles are 4-0 with Shawn Hochuli as the ref since Nick Siranni was hired
(4-0 ATS as well)
so let’s see how it’s playing out so far….
First half penalty distribution:
10 penalties for 75 yds on Bills
1 penalty for 5 yards on Eagles https://t.co/vBSjvqW9M7 pic.twitter.com/rSHFUA6bhz
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) November 26, 2023
The Eagles went on to win the game in overtime, 37-34. The Bills got the ball first but kicked a field goal. This allowed the Eagles to receive the ball and score a touchdown to end it.
Even with the win and an impressive performance, QB Jalen Hurts said postgame that he has yet to play up to the standards he has set for himself.
“Obviously we have a ton to clean up,” he said. “I have not been executing to the level of my standard but it seems to be enough. In terms of the standard that I’d like to play to consistently and that I’d like us to play to consistently as a team, enough is never enough.”
“We just want to continue to strive for more,” Hurts said. “We can play to that standard but in those moments, you never want to get too high or get too low. We found a way at the end and made it happen.”
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