If the Kansas City Chiefs get past the Cincinnati Bengals to make it to Super Bowl LVII, Kansas City super-defensive lineman Chris Jones might want to be very, very careful when going after either Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, or San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.
Why? Because on Tuesday, the NFL announced that Carl Cheffers will be the referee for the big game this time around.
Super Bowl LVII officiating crew announced: Carl Cheffers referee pic.twitter.com/clCMuuH7PA
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) January 24, 2023
Let’s go back to the Chiefs’ Week 5 30-29 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, in which Jones was busted for a roughing the passer penalty that — like most roughing the passer penalties — didn’t make a lot of sense in the moment.
Roughing the passer? 🏈 #MNF pic.twitter.com/y4AR9G3MVe
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 11, 2022
The call negated the sack, and the Chiefs’ fumble recovery. Reaction was swift, and severe. Cheffers and his crew were serenaded with boos throughout the rest of the game, which seemed to make Cheffers a bit uneasy as the game progressed.
when stadium security informs you that there’ll be nobody to escort you to the bus after the game pic.twitter.com/pK8hF9nqHl
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) October 11, 2022
Everybody from FOX Sports analyst and former NFL VP of Officiating Mike Pereira, to Dallas Cowboys pass-rushing star Micah Parsons, to occasional NFL analyst and full-time conservative pundit Tony Dungy were in agreement in their disagreement.
I’m sitting at a bar drinking Tito’s with chief fans yelling at me. I DO NOT BLAME THEM!
— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) October 11, 2022
The nfl is terrible!!! Change the rules or just make the league 7 on 7!!
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) October 11, 2022
This is not football anymore. I know we have to protect the QB but Chris Jones was recovering a fumble. We have gotten ridiculous with this.
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) October 11, 2022
It didn’t help that Cheffers couldn’t even get Jones’ number right when he called the “penalty.”
Make what you will of the NFL’s insistence that officials are rewarded with the biggest games for their top performances… we’ve all seen how that works out. That said, Cheffers is just one of a number of officials who have seriously underperformed in the 2022 season, so maybe this is a case of the best of the worst?
