Getty Bills safety Jordan Poyer at Highmark Stadium on November 19, 2023.
The Buffalo Bills‘ 37-34 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Eagles was a soul crusher.
While the Bills whiffed on a few key opportunities to put the game away, Shawn Hochuli’s officiating crew made it extremely difficult for Buffalo to win. The Athletic’s Tim Graham wrote on Tuesday, November 27, “Never once in my career… have I ever written a column trashing an officiating performance. Until now.”
Ever since Nick Sirianni was hired as head coach, the Eagles are 5-0 when Hochuli is the head referee. Buffalo was called for 11 penalties for a total of 80 yards while Philadelphia received four penalties for 30 yards. After the game, Graham spoke to several Bills players to get their take on the ref’s missed calls against Philadelphia.
Bills veteran Leonard Floyd said, “You need luck on your side and some great referees making better calls.” When asked to elaborate, “It was s****,” Floyd added. “But I ain’t going to go there. We should’ve won.”
Safety Jordan Poyer didn’t blame their loss on the officiating but sounded off on referees for not facing consequences for mistakes in general. When asked about the importance ref’s calls have on a team winning or losing, “A lot,” the team captain said. “A lot.”
“It seems like it’s been like that all season. Nothing’s being done about it. Officials aren’t being held accountable for their calls or no-calls. Players are getting fined during the week for silly stuff. It doesn’t seem like, I don’t know… It’s not an excuse, but it’s just the way the game is being played this year. Doesn’t seem like a whole lot of accountability for the officials.”
2 Non-Calls on the Eagles Made Bills Fans & Analysts Irate
After the Bills were slapped with 10 penalties in the first half, NFL analyst Andrew Brandt posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, “What beef does [Shawn] Hochuli’s crew have against the Bills?”
Two calls in particular greatly favored the Eagles in the first half. On third-and-eight in the second quarter, Eagles cornerback Darius Slay tackled Trent Sherfield before the Bills receiver could catch the ball. A pass interference penalty would’ve put the Bills at the Eagles’ 40-yard line, but no flag was thrown. Buffalo was instead forced to punt.
Sherfield refused to blame the refs. He told The Athletic, “It’s the game that we play. The refs have a job to do, and I have a job to do. I’m not here to critique anybody. I think there’s always going to be some missed calls every single game.
“I don’t expect them to be perfect, but I guess today it just didn’t go our way with some of the calls that we had. It is what it is.”
Josh Allen may need a new jersey sheesh
With 1:25 left in the half, Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick grabbed the collar of Bills quarterback Josh Allen‘s jersey during a tackle attempt. Allen, whose jersey was clearly ripped, threw the ball before hitting the ground.
The rules define Reddick’s move as a horse collar, but he wasn’t called for the foul. Instead, Allen was penalized for intentional grounding. If the 27-year-old quarterback’s pass was deemed incomplete, as Allen intended, Buffalo would’ve been in a prime position to score a touchdown. Instead, they were forced to attempt a 34-yard field goal, which the Eagles blocked.
Shawn Hochuli’s Wikipedia Page was Edited to Read, ‘Avid Eagles Fan’
Another highly subjective call happened in overtime when Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown appeared to fumble the ball, but the pass was deemed incomplete. Instead of a game-ending turnover, the Eagles went on to score the game-winning touchdown.
During the Sunday night matchup between the Ravens and Chargers, a similar play happened and it was ruled a fumble. Bills super fan Luke Russert posted, “The more you watch the AJ Brown play—it was a fumble as constituted by the rules. #Bills really got screwed and Shawn Hochuli should never ref a Philly game again.”
Russert was not alone in his feelings. After the game, a fan made some changes to Hochuli’s Wikipedia page. At 3:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday afternoon, the ref’s bio on Google still read, “Shawn Hochuli is a National Football League official. He wears jersey #83 and is a huge Eagles fan, he also owes Nick Sirianni over 1 million dollars as a part of a failed timeshare scheme.”
If it’s on the Internet it must be true.
The Bills have a bye week before facing the Kansas City Chiefs (8-3) on Sunday, December 10. At 6-6, there’s no margin for error if Buffalo wants to play in the postseason.
“The rest of the season is do or die,” Floyd told Graham. “Everybody’s got to step up the intensity, the overall want-to. You’ve got to rise to another level to get where we want. Momentum’s got to shift. All 11 guys have to sacrifice, whatever it takes to get the win, no mental errors from nobody.”