NFL fans have gotten all too familiar and accustomed to the officials deciding the outcome of games with their awful calls — or lack thereof. It’s one thing to make a mistake in a regular-season game. But a game-changing call in the Super Bowl? Completely inexcusable, and it’s happened far too many times.
So, with that said, let’s all sulk together and dive into the 11 worst officiating mistakes in Super Bowl history.
Find out the top 11 worst officiating mistakes ever in the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl 57: James Bradberry’s “Holding” Penalty
Super Bowl 57 between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles was shaping up to be a top-five all-time Super Bowl game. Count on none other than the NFL refs to tarnish the game’s legacy, though.
Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts both played near-perfect football throughout the entire contest. The two teams combined for 73 points and 757 yards of offense, with just one takeaway and two sacks — both on Hurts.
Mahomes threw two early fourth-quarter touchdown passes to help the Chiefs jump in front by eight points, but a Hurts rushing touchdown and two-point conversion tied the game with five minutes left. And now we were about to watch an Oscar-worthy finish unfold.
Facing a 3rd-and-8 situation in the red zone after the two-minute warning, Mahomes missed JuJu Smith-Schuster on a deep pass to the end zone. However, Eagles star corner James Bradberry was flagged for defensive holding on Smith-Schuster.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
As the Eagles only had one timeout left, the Chiefs were able to melt most of the clock and let Harrison Butker kick the game-winning field goal with eight seconds remaining.
Even if that “was” holding…like Greg Olsen said, you really gotta throw a flag at that stage? That’s how one of the best Super Bowls ever has to end. A damn freaking shame.
Super Bowl 53: Stephon Gilmore’s Defensive PI Goes Uncalled
Super Bowl 53 between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams certainly doesn’t go down fondly in the minds of most — unless you’re a die-hard Pats fan.
Remember, most people were tired of the Patriots at this point — long before the Chiefs’ dynasty started. Also, most fans were pissed that the Rams got into the Super Bowl over the New Orleans Saints because of the infamous NOLA No-Call incident.
Oh, did we mention it was also the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in history? Boring!
The silver lining is that the ending was semi-exciting. A Sony Michel touchdown put the Patriots up 10 to 3 with seven minutes left, but Jared Goff had his Rams on the cusp of tying it up late.
Facing a 1st-and-10 at the New England 27, Goff just missed wide receiver Brandin Cooks for a potential game-tying score. Take a close look, though, and Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore got away with clear-as-day pass interference.
Goff threw a back-breaking interception to Gilmore on the ensuing play, allowing the Pats to burn the clock and tack on a late field goal to put it away. A month later, the NFL admitted that the refs missed the pass interference call on Gilmore.
And surely, the Rams would have scored from a yard out! I mean, when has a team ever failed to score from one yard out with the Super Bowl on the line?!
Super Bowl 56: Bengals Screwed Twice On One Play
Remember what we said about the Rams getting screwed by that non-call near the end of Super Bowl 53? At least the refs — albeit a different officiating crew — made it up to them three years later.
The Cincinnati Bengals were one defensive stop away from LIKELY securing the franchise’s first Super Bowl title. They had the Rams on the ropes, trailing by four points with 1:47 remaining and facing a tough 3rd-and-goal situation from the eight-yard line.
Now, there are two referee screwups here. One, look at how three of the Rams’ offensive linemen get away with BLATANT false start penalties. Oh, and linebacker Logan Wilson was flagged for a tacky defensive holding infraction.
Is this REALLY defensive holding? What happened to let them play in a championship game again?
The fresh set of downs led to Matthew Stafford throwing the go-ahead touchdown to Cooper Kupp with 1:25 left. The Rams defense forced a turnover on downs to ice the Super Bowl on their home turf of SoFi Stadium.
That holding penalty against Wilson doesn’t happen if the refs don’t miss the false start. Then it would have brought up 3rd-and-goal from the 13. Chances are the Bengals will make that stop and probably win.
But you do you, refs. You do you…
Super Bowl 40: Darrell Jackson’s “Pass Interference” Penalty
Super Bowl 40 is hardly worth remembering unless you’re a Pittsburgh Steelers fan or a hater of the Seattle Seahawks. Because, as most folks remember, this game was completely destroyed by horrible officiating that completely screwed Seattle.
There were plenty of terrible calls in this game, but we’re going to focus on the ones that largely affected the outcome of the game. So, allow us to start with the first blown call that set the stage for a Steeler victory and a Seattle screwjob…
Late in the first quarter, Matt Hasselbeck bought some time and found a wide-open Darrell Jackson in the end zone to open the scoring. However, Jackson was penalized for a weak offensive pass interference call.
That awful call forced Seattle to settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown. Seattle wouldn’t get their first major of the game until midway through the third quarter.
And to think this wasn’t even the worst call of the game…
Super Bowl 40: Sean Locklear’s Game-Changing “Holding” Penalty
Seattle was on the verge of taking the lead in the fourth quarter despite being on the wrong side of the officiating miscues. Trailing 14-10 early in the fourth quarter, Matt Hasselbeck found Jerramy Stevens for a huge first down near the Pittsburgh two-yard line.
However, the play came back because of a pathetic holding call on Sean Locklear. John Madden was even baffled by the call.
Three plays later, Hasselbeck was picked off by Ike Taylor — only for the former to be curiously flagged for a block below the waist that was actually legal. Pittsburgh would put the game away with an Antwaan Randle El touchdown pass to Hines Ward on a crafty trick play.
Super Bowl 47: Jimmy Smith Gets Away With Holding
Super Bowl 47 was living up to the hype in more ways than one. It was the final game for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Randy Moss and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. One of them was to retire as a Super Bowl champion.
Oh, and have you ever heard that brothers Jim and John Harbaugh faced off in the big game? The only Super Bowl matchup ever with brothers as the head coaches for the two finalists?
The game looked like it’d be a blowout early, with the Ravens jumping out to a 28-6 lead early in the third quarter. Then the infamous power outage — hence the “Blackout Bowl” nickname — arrived and delayed the game for 34 minutes, allowing the 49ers to recuperate and regain the momentum.
The 49ers chipped away at the deficit and suddenly found themselves trailing by five points at the two-minute warning. San Fran was five yards away from the lead, but a pair of incomplete passes by Colin Kaepernick brought up 4th-and-goal.
The Ravens set the house after Kaepernick, forcing him to throw a deep ball to Michael Crabtree. His star wideout couldn’t get the ball, though, only because Jimmy Smith of the Ravens held Crabtree and prevented him from making a play on the ball.
Look, that’s clearly a penalty going by the rulebook. And if you’re part of the “let them play” crowd, we get it. But the officials oughta call it consistently because that’s definitely a flag nine times out of 10 in the regular season.
The Ravens melted most of the clock, conceited a safety, and tackled Ted Ginn near midfield on his last-second punt return to win the Super Bowl.
Just another Super Bowl decided by a brutal officiating mistake! Nothing new to see there, folks.
Super Bowl 55: Tyrann Mathieu’s “Pass Interference” Penalty Sinks KC
For the fans who hate the Kansas City Chiefs and think the refs are out there to rig it for them, we advise you to watch Super Bowl 55 on repeat. Yanno, the game where every single crappy call went against KC and benefited Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
In a game like the Super Bowl, you either let ‘em play or you don’t. The refs let Tampa play, penalizing them only four times for 39 yards. The Chiefs, by the way, were penalized 11 times for 120 yards. They could NOT play.
But without a doubt, the game’s worst call came late in the second quarter, with the Bucs up 14 to 6. Two plays after Mike Evans drew a questionable 34-yard defensive PI call, and the big-bodied receiver drew a laughable defensive PI call in the end zone against Tyrann Mathieu.
Yeah, there’s contact there. The only issue is that the ball was completely uncatchable, as Tony Romo noted on the broadcast. NBC rules analyst and former NFL referee Terry McAulay also disagreed with the call.
Tom Brady would hit Antonio Brown for a touchdown to extend the lead to 15. That was pretty much the dagger for Kansas City, who couldn’t rebound from that horrible officiating call in a 31-9 loss.
Super Bowl 59: A.J. Brown’s “Offensive” PI Call
The Philadelphia Eagles wound up crushing the Eagles 40-22 in Super Bowl 59 anyway, but let’s not let the refs entirely off the hook.
On the Eagles’ opening drive, Jalen Hurts hit a wide-open AJ Brown for a big gain on fourth down. However, the catch was called back because of an offensive PI on Brown, which forced the Eagles to punt.
The Refs oughta be happy that KC won. Otherwise, they would’ve lived this one down.
Super Bowl 50: Jerricho Cotchery’s Catch That Wasn’t
Super Bowl 50 was a big-time bore. A defensive slugfest featuring a washed-up Peyton Manning and MVP Cam Newton, who stood no chance behind the Broncos’ historically good defense. Yay.
Arguably, the most pivotal point of Super Bowl 50 between the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers came midway through the first quarter. On the first play of the drive, Cam Newton found Jerricho Cotchery for what appeared to be a first down catch near Carolina’s 40-yard line.
The officials ruled it incomplete, so Carolina head coach Ron Rivera threw the challenge flag. It looked like an open-and-shut review, with Cotchery getting a 24-yard reception…right?
Two plays later, Newton was strip-sacked, and Malik Jackson scooped it up in the end zone for six. The lead extended Carolina’s deficit to 10 points, and the Broncos never trailed in a 24-10 victory.
Now, the “what if”? Maybe if the officials call that a catch by Cotchery, Carolina goes down for a go-ahead TD. It sets the tone and puts the pressure on noodle-armed Manning to play from behind. Yeah, Carolina could have easily won if that no-catch was actually ruled correctly.
Super Bowl 43: Missed “Block In The Back” On James Harrison’s Immaculate Interception
There were two defining plays in Super Bowl 43: James Harrison’s 100-yard pick-six off of Kurt Warner to close out the first half and Santonio Holmes’ tip-toe game-winning touchdown catch in the waning seconds.
There was plenty of questionable officiating in this game, but the worst mistake by the zebras came on Harrison’s pick-six — AKA the “Immaculate Interception.”
Pay close attention to No. 56 on Pittsburgh during Harrison’s return. He clearly delivers a block in the back on Cardinals running back Tim Hightower, yet somehow gets away with it.
Pittsburgh went on to win 27-23. Do the math. If the refs flag Woodley there, Harrison’s game-changing seven-point play is off the board. That’s the difference. Then Arizona wins its first Super Bowl.
To think Ben Roethlisberger would be 0-and-3 in Super Bowls if the officials called the games correctly…Hmmm..
Super Bowl 54: Hey Refs, THIS Was Roughing The Passer!!!
If you’re in the crowd where the referees are in it to help the Chiefs, then look away.
The officials made several mistakes in this one, and yes, they all helped the Chiefs. But the worst game-changing officiating call came in the fourth quarter, with the 49ers clinging to a three-point lead.
Facing a pivotal 3rd-and-5 situation with just over five minutes to go, the Chiefs forced an errant Jimmy Garoppolo pass to force a punt. Have a look at this angle, though. Ben Niemann clearly got away with helmet-to-helmet contact on Garoppolo, which should have drawn a roughing-the-passer call.
If they throw the flag, the 49ers get a fresh set of downs and are burning more time off the clock at worst. Or they’re getting a TD to put the game away.
Either way, the refs missed an indisputable roughing the passer call. The Chiefs would score two touchdowns after the punt to put Super Bowl 54 away. Garoppolo and the 49ers were robbed big time, alright.
