Getty Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers argues with a referee against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV.
49ers defensive end Ronald Blair is not letting NFL fans forget what happened in Super Bowl LIV.
On Sunday, he spent his day off watching the Raiders square off against the Chiefs and couldn’t help but call out the refs for throwing the flags they failed to throw back in February.
“Matter fact, where were these refs in the super bowl,” Blair didn’t hesitate to tweet out.
Ronald Blair kept it 💯 today 😂😅 | #49ers
Blair didn’t participate in the big game against the Chiefs because of a torn ACL, but he watched closely as the refs missed some big calls that day.
Going Back to Refs’ Missed Call During Super Bowl
In case you don’t remember, let’s go back to that day for a minute.
The 49ers held a late lead in the fourth quarter but Patrick Mahomes held the Chiefs stay alive with a long third-down pass. Just over seven minutes remained on the clock.
In control of the game, or so they thought, San Francisco, led 20-10. But, then things went downhill from there when it probably shouldn’t have, 49ers and other NFL fans argue.
It looks like 49ers’ defensive end Nick Bosa was held on the game-changing 3rd-and-15 play and the refs failed to throw a flag. Others would argue differently
See for yourself:
And here is that “holding” people wanted on 72-Eric Fisher vs Nick Bosa. The LT expertly switches to a push-redirect and doesn’t hold here, imo (even though it sure appears that way if you are rooting). I can see how SF fan thinks he sees it, but Bosa is being pushed, not held.
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“You’ve got to have time in the pocket to make that throw, and he got it,” announcer Troy Aikman said after the play. “I think it was [Nick] Bosa who was coming off the edge to [Mahomes’s] left, but he had time—the line held up.”
To be fair, it’s very controversial because analysts argue left tackle Eric Fisher seemed to have been pushing Bosa at an awkward angle which could very well look like hold or be one. Either way, it’s easy to see why 49ers fans were so upset, but a bunch of throw flags is not how you want to win.
KC went on to score a touchdown three players and a PI penalty later to put the game at 20-17.
Add Jerry Rice to The List of Critics
You can add 49ers legend and Hall of Famer Jerry Rice to the long list of people criticizing the refs for their officiating performance during Super Bowl LIV.
Rice pointed out a bad call the Niners had on them right before the half when he joined 95.7 The Game’s “Joe, Lo and Dibs” show.
“We had some bad calls too against us,” Rice said on air. “The one right with (George) Kittle right before halftime. I’m like, ‘Are you serious? Come on!’ I understand if you really extend your arm but let the players play.”
Niner’s tight end George Kittle was flagged for pass interference at the end of the first half. The score was tied 10-10 and that would have put San Francisco in scoring position. That could very well have resulted in 42 yards and put the 49ers at KC’s 13-yard line with 14 seconds left.
This was called offensive PI.
But, the refs made the PI call.
Clearly, the refs were gambling on the Chiefs this game…just kidding. Or were they?