The San Francisco 49ers fell 25-22 to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII. Things could’ve been much different if the refs had made some calls against the winning team that were seen multiple times.
One could argue that all things considered, Super Bowl LVIII was a well-officiated contest. San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan is one person who would disagree.
In the first quarter, the 49ers were trying to make a statement early on.
One play saw Brock Purdy find George Kittle for an 18-yard pass. However, the play would be called back due to an offensive holding penalty on Trent Williams as he could be seen tugging on Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Mike Danna’s jersey.
Shanahan may not have liked the call, but he saw his guy holding and made that clear to the ref. he also let one of them know that the Chiefs do the exact same ting to free up Patrick Mahomes and wanted the same thing called on them.
In response, the refs did not call a single holding penalty on the Chiefs all game long.
“Hey, I saw the hold, but that’s what they do every time,” Shanahan told the official. “They hold, they tug our guy ‘til Pat [Mahomes] leaves and then they let go. That’s what our guy did, make sure they call it both ways.”
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Heading into the Super Bowl, Kansas City led the league with 30 offensive-holding penalties in 2023.
49ers defender Nick Bosa blasted the Chiefs offensive line for holding a lot before Super Bowl 58. He was held more and nothing was called. Team CEO Jed York chimed in and griped about a holding no-call during San Francisco’s Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs four years ago.
All of that complaining did not lead to the refs calling a holding penalty. In fact, the Chiefs’ offensive line has not been called for a holding penalty in three Super Bowls.
