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Part I: Anything involving the Chiefs is a problem right now
You gotta realize something straight off the top: I’m not a ‘conspiracy theorist’ when it comes to stuff like this. There are just simple realities that all sports fans need to know and hear: There are definitely teams that the leagues WANT to go far. It’s all about ratings. They are simply running businesses in the end.
So in the NFL, those teams are definitely the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles right now. Keep in mind, Eagles vs. Chiefs was the most-watched Super Bowl in league HISTORY. So the NFL would have absolutely no qualms, going straight back to that very same matchup this year.
Between Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce and Pat Mahomes right now, the Chiefs are a real freakin’ problem. They may or may not actually be the best team in the NFL, but they are certainly the most popular, with those three power brokers leading the way.
Thus, we all saw the robbery of the Jets on Monday Night Football. An absolute travesty.
Then, we saw the Vikings get screwed against the Chiefs — the very next week! Talk about a relentless barrage of highly questionable calls.
Now, this week — fishy enough — the Chiefs betting line dropped from 11 to 10.5 right before the Broncos game. And what happens? The Chiefs proceeded to win by exactly 11 points. Fishy ‘AF,’ as the kids say, these days.
I’m just saying… keep an eye on this storyline. It’s literally getting out of control. How do you stop the Chiefs with all this help on top?
Part II: That 49ers-Browns game was sketchy from the beginning
Right from the jump, that betting line was sketchy. The 49ers opened as relatively small favorites, and right away, everyone was like, how could this be? Isn’t Deshaun Watson gonna be out? Aren’t the 49ers the best team in the NFL? You’re gonna throw PJ Walker at them, seriously?
Well, things only got more worrisome when the game got close on Sunday. The refs — who had mostly stayed out of the way up to that point — suddenly started calling everything against the 49ers when the outcome of the game was hanging in the balance.
Now, let’s get one thing straight on the football side: The Cleveland Browns defense played extremely well against Kyle Shanahan’s supposedly high-powered offense. So, take nothing away from Myles Garrett, Za’Darius Smith, Denzel Ward and those guys.
BUT — the fact remains that the refs got involved at exactly the sketchiest possible time. The betting line was alarming from the get-go, then we got backup when the game actually happened, and finally, the refs exposed themselves late.
Part III: If not for Jalen Hurts’ pick, the Jets would have been robbed again
Jalen Hurts threw that game away against my Jets. Plain and simple. Prior to that, it seemed like the league really wanted them to have that one.
I’ve been watching football like a maniac for 30-plus years, and I’ve never once seen offsetting penalties NOT offset.
Well, that happened in the Jets game. Suddenly, two penalties — one on each side — didn’t offset anymore.
Also, Jalen Hurts was ruled short of the goal line on one play — which he was — then the booth overturned it after an alarmingly long commercial break. This overturn was SO bad that the broadcast had to call in the rules expert to explain that the booth has ‘extra angles we can’t see.’ Because every single angle we had showed no overturn was possible. It wasn’t even a touchdown. But the NFL gave the Eagles that one, too.
Not to mention, Allen Lazard simply blocked a guy, and they called a personal foul on him at a critical juncture of the game.
In the end, I’m tired of the NFL not wanting the Jets to be a thing. We are a thing! We probably have the best defense in the league! Just let us do our thing and tell the damn referees to stay out of our way.
John Frascella is a published sports author who has been covering the NFL for 19 years. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @LegendSports7 for all things NFL, NBA and MLB throughout the year.
