NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell must be aware of the many complaints stemming from the bizarre officiating in games as of late, yet he claims referees are doing a better job than ever before.
The criticism has come from both inside and outside the league this season, while certain folks have been fueling conspiracies claiming that the NFL is “rigged.” Goodell, though, does not agree that officiating has gotten worse.
“I think for us, when you look at officiating, I don’t think it’s ever been better in the league,” he said during his annual state of the league press conference on Wednesday.
“There are over 42,000 plays in a season. Multiple infractions could occur on any play. Take that average and extrapolate that. That’s hundreds, if not millions of potential fouls. And our officials do an extraordinary job of getting those.”
The Commish defended match officials from their loudest detractors while lauding the quality of the games themselves.
“We may not agree with every TV announcer or officiating expert, but we think our officials are doing a great job,” he continued.
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I would say we always start with the game. The game is really the most important thing for us. And I would say the quality of the game has never been better. We’re so excited about the competition. I think 50 percent of our division winners and 50 percent of our playoff teams were new teams this year. The young players coming in are extraordinary, particularly at the quarterback position. I think that has an incredible strength to our future, ultimately.
The AFC Championship game came under particular criticism given the many calls that went the Kansas City Chiefs’ way against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Chiefs will be facing the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl this Sunday and fans would hope there aren’t as many controversial incidents as they could really put a damper on affairs.
Here’s how social media reacted to Goodell’s comments:
