The NFL is preparing for the Super Bowl on February 9. However, Hall of Famer Troy Aikman is already looking to the offseason, during which he believes the league needs to fix its officiating problem.
“I know the officials have a tough job. I mean, the scrutiny that they’re under,” Aikman said on a recent episode of SI Media with Jimmy Traina. “As we’ve gotten more advanced with instant replay, those guys, it seems, have become more and more scrutinized.
“And the game has not become less controversial. The game has become more controversial,” Aikman continued. “I just think that we’re at a point that this has tipped a little bit because the league is partners with a number of these gambling services.
“Here you are promoting gambling — people are gambling more than they ever have before, and those types of calls – there’s a lot at stake regardless. But especially when you’re considering there’s a lot of money that’s changing hands with these calls as well.
“I think that we owe it to the fans that we get it right, and I think we’re at a point in time where we can. We can get it more right. So, that was really my position in just trying to lean on the NFL and say, ‘Hey, we gotta fix this. We gotta address it in the offseason.’”
Much of the controversy surrounding NFL officiating has centered on the Chiefs. In both postseason games Kansas City has played—the Divisional Round Game against Houston and the AFC Championship Game against Buffalo—multiple highly controversial calls went the Chiefs’ way.
With a 0ne-point lead and a crucial 4th & 1, Bills QB Josh Allen failed to convert (or, at least, seemingly failed to) the first down. The play was critical since the Chiefs were awarded the ball, scored on the ensuing possession, and never looked back as they eeked out a three-point win and punched their ticket to the Super Bowl.
I’m quitting watching football. There is no other way to teach @nflcommish a lesson. This is blatant cheating. #nflrigged pic.twitter.com/fGzya6LOQX
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) January 27, 2025
Earlier in the game, the referees awarded possession to the Chiefs on a contested catch between Bills safety Cole Bishop and Chiefs receiver Xavier Worthy. Although neither player appeared to make the catch, the referees said Worthy caught the ball and confirmed it via replay, even though it clearly hit the ground.
The trend of game-altering plays going Kansas City’s way in the playoffs goes back to at least the 2021 postseason. After the Chiefs’ Wild-Card victory over the Texans, another game in which multiple controversial calls went Kansas City’s way, Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis did a deep dive to reveal that the Chiefs have been assessed fewer penalties than their opponents in ten of 11 playoff games since 2021.
Not only that, Sharp’s analysis revealed that an overwhelming percentage of the key penalties in games, the 15-yard penalties, and other game-altering calls, have nearly all gone Kansas City’s way.
