NFL fans 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.
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 exploded with outrage – especially on the Jets’ final drive, where a controversial fumble was called an incomplete pass and three 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 beatwriter 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.
An irate Mina Kimes, the NFL analyst at ESPN, simply tweeted in all-caps, ‘ENOUGH’.
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.
After that play, former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III posted, ‘Jets can’t catch a break even with help.’
