Super Bowl LIX was not even one drive old when controversy surrounding the referees struck.
The Philadelphia Eagles received the ball for the first possession of the game and decided to go for it when faced with a fourth down near midfield.
Jalen Hurts dropped back to pass and hurled a beauty of a deep ball to A.J. Brown, who hauled it in for a big gain. However, the referee overseeing the sequence threw a flag for offensive pass interference—a questionable call that got Tom Brady fired up and fans chanting their displeasure early on.
This was called OPI on AJ Brown. Oh boy. pic.twitter.com/TtLpfncAjU
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 9, 2025
Afterwards the Fox Sports cameras caught Philly head coach Nick Sirianni tearing into the official who explained the call to him afterwards.
Eagles HC Nick Sirianni to referee Ron Tolbert after the OPI call on AJ Brown:
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) February 9, 2025
"That's terrible." pic.twitter.com/F8Mb8ZVPbY
While Brown did appear to hit the Chiefs defender's facemask, it was the sort of 50/50 penalty that fans would prefer go uncalled with a championship on the line. It also doesn't do much to quell the ongoing narrative that the Chiefs benefit from a disproportional amount of calls from the officials compared to their opponents.
Sirianni is clearly frustrated with how the game started for his team. Fortunately for him, there's a lot of game left to be played.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Eagles’ Nick Sirianni Tore Into Ref After Chiefs Got Early Questionable Call.
