NFL officiating is a hot topic ahead of the Super Bowl, and that's no different at radio row.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL Referee Association have both broached criticism this week that officials have favored the Kansas City Chiefs on calls this season. Goodell called the idea "ridiculous." NFLRA executive director slammed the criticism as "insulting and preposterous."
Mark Ingram has a different take. The former Pro Bowl running back who was on the wrong side of one of the worst calls in NFL history joined Yahoo Sports on radio row on Wednesday. Here's what he said when asked if the Chiefs get all the calls.
"If you watch the games man, it seems like when there's 50/50 calls, it seems like they go to the Chiefs," Ingram said.
So what are the Eagles or any team supposed to do in a scenario where if believe that they aren't getting a fair shake from officials?
"You cannot leave the game up to the referees," Ingram continued. "You have to dominate them, which is hard to do, especially when they have help from the refs.
"You have to know, like, OK, this ref calls holding, this ref calls offensive pass interference, this ref calls defensive pass interference, or this ref calls whatever. You know you have to play the game as it's being reffed."
Sore subject for Ingram
Ingram then recalled one of the most infamous non-calls NFL history that cost his New Orleans Saints with a trip to the Super Bowl at stake. Ingram played for the 2018 Saints team that lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC championship.
In that game, officials declined to flag an obvious third-down pass interference penalty on Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman in the red zone in the final two minutes of regulation. A correct flag would have awarded the Saints a first down near the goal line with 1:45 remaining in a 20-20 game.
Instead, the Saints settled for a field goal and eventually lost in overtime. It's the exact kind of scenario that would cause an uproar in on Sunday with a large portion of the NFL fanbase convinced that the NFL and its officials unfairly favor the Chiefs.
"I lived through a couple bad calls, a lot of bad calls," Ingram said. "A no call right here in the Superdome, NFC championship. I know what it's like to be screwed by the refs."
For Ingram, who never played in a Super Bowl in his standout 12-year NFL career, the missed call still stings.
"I'm still not over it," Ingram said. "I'll never be over it. It hurts forever. Especially when you come to a Super Bowl. It hurts, man. Because I didn't play in it. Obviously there were other things that factored into that game.
"That was a huge call that should have been called. And it wasn't. I'm still not over it. I'll never be over it. Because I don't have a ring. It sucks."
So Ingram knows what its like to be on the wrong side of a bad high-stakes call. Here's hoping for everyone's sake that Sunday's game is decided by the players on the field.
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