New England Patriots fans are still trying to figure out the reasons for their team’s debacle. Some have tried to point to the officiating as the cause, but most analysts agree that the refereeing errors were the least of the Pats’ problems in Super Bowl LX.
In a game where the offenses were ineffective for most of the time, the referees had very little to do. The first flag was thrown late in the third quarter, and there were only seven penalties in total.
The officiating was mostly clean, with only two moments that could be questioned:
- A possible offside by the Seahawks on a Patriots punt in the third quarter.
- Josh Jobe’s out-of-bounds hit on Stefon Diggs.
However, Fansided analyst Austen Bundy made it very clear that this did not influence the outcome.
The refereeing errors did not hurt New England
Down 9-0 at the start of the third quarter, the Patriots punted once again after only three plays. Bryce Baringer’s punt pinned the Seahawks inside their own 10-yard line.
Seattle’s defensive line flinched before the snap, but there were no flags from the officials. Quarterback Sam Darnold led his team to their fourth field goal of the game, extending the lead to 12-0.
Some Patriots fans have protested the lack of a penalty, but as Breer explained, “Had the referees quaght the infraction, the five-yard penalty would have extended New England’s drive on their own 44-yard line.”
That, however, guaranteed nothing. “Quarterback Drake Maye was a shell of his MVP runner-up self, throwing incompletion after incompletion. The most likely scenario would’ve just been another punt,” the analyst speculated.
A penalty for Jobe wouldn’t have had any consequences either
At the start of the fourth quarter, cornerback Josh Jobe tackled wide receiver Stefon Diggs when they were already out of bounds. The hit led to a scuffle between the two, during which Jobe punched Diggs in the helmet.
“Even if the official missed the initial late hit that should’ve been called first, both Diggs and Jobe deserved to be flagged for the altercation,” Breer explained.
Jobe, in particular, could have been ejected from the game. Breer admitted that it would have relieved some of the pressure on Maye, but not significantly.
“While Jobe finished the game with three more tackles, that wasn’t going to prevent the final result.”
Thus, after a mostly uneventful game, the Patriots and their fans will have to look inward to see the causes of the debacle.
Read the full article here
