Calls don’t favor effort for repeat

The New England Patriots lost Super Bowl LII, but they can perhaps console themselves with the fact that will probably be hearing a lot less about how they supposedly get all the calls from officiating crews. Referees passed up reasonable opportunities to negate Eagles touchdowns in the second, third and fourth quarters Sunday, helping Philadelphia to a 41-33 triumph.

On the first of the touchdowns, Nick Foles caught a pass on a trick play near the Patriots’ goal line with just a few seconds left in the second quarter. Somewhat lost amid the excitement over Philadelphia's gutsy call, however, was the fact that — as some noted — the Eagles could have been flagged for an illegal formation with only six, not seven, men on the line.

However, officials could have judged that wide receiver Alshon Jeffery was close enough to the line at the right side of the formation to merit a no-call. On the preceding play, some observers thought Jeffery should have drawn a passinterference call after he fell to the turf while being defended on an incomplete pass into the end zone.

In addition, a previous play involving Jeffery, on which he tipped a ball into the air that was then intercepted by the Patriots, drew some howls that New England should have been flagged for pass interference. That was red meat for the “Pats get all the calls” crowd, not to mention a number of disgruntled Eagles fans, but Philadelphia appeared to catch something of a break on a third-quarter score.

On that play, Foles hit running back Corey Clement for a 22-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone. While the play was undergoing its mandatory review, replays indicated Clement might not have had full possession of the ball, at least as defined by the NFL's stringent catch rules, before going out of bounds.

On NBC’s telecast, analyst Cris Collinsworth expressed confidence that, upon further review, the touchdown catch would be overturned.

However, officials allowed it to stand, prompting Collinsworth to say, “I give up.”

Collinsworth had a point, in that there were several instances during the regular season in which a receiver appeared to bobble the ball ever so slightly as he went out of the end zone, resulting in touchdowns being overturned.

The cleat was on the other foot Sunday, with the Patriots on the wrong end of game-changing referee decisions. Two former NFL executives in charge of officiating, Mike Pereira and Dean Blandino, agreed that it was correct to let Clement's touchdown stand.