Fans tuning in for the first NFL game of the season on Thursday night were rewarded with a tight contest that ended in a Chiefs victory. They were also treated to a barrage of flags that confounded many.
The NFL’s competition committee has made it a point of emphasis for referees to crack down on illegal formations – especially when it comes to lineman who line up offset from each other.
According to the rules, a penalty would be called if a team ‘has failed to properly align with seven players on the line of scrimmage at the start of an offensive play’.
By the second play of the night, the Baltimore Ravens were feeling the brunt of the official’s whistle.
All told, the team would be penalized five times for the infraction – including three times on their first drive of the contest.
The Ravens offensive line kept getting hit with illegal formation penalties on Thursday night
Ronnie Stanley in particular was hit with three penalties for lining up slightly off
The Ravens were the only team penalized for this on the evening – leading some to believe that the referees were in favor of Kansas City, or that they were making their stamp on the game too big.
‘I can accept losing. I cant accept the refs cheating. #nflfixed,’ fumed Barstool Sports president Dave Portnoy on social media.
Even country music star Zach Bryan got in on the action, saying, ‘do we stop watching now or is it the refs the whole game we think.’
Former Ravens star wide receiver Torrey Smith said, ‘I see the timeline is overreacting. It looks like the first game of the year for everyone! Referees included.’ – only for the star to issue a second tweet, saying, ‘Update – These refs are TRIPPIN!’
Ex-NFL lineman and podcast host Will Compton wrote, ‘Just give the refs red jerseys my god.’
Former NFL quarterback Kurt Benkert wrote, ‘I actually enjoy watching the Chiefs play football. I love their style and all of that. I don’t enjoy the refs sliders being set to 70 in favor of them. They don’t need help to win. They are one of the best teams in this league. Just call it EVEN and let the guys play.’
‘NFL Refs just let the Chiefs do whatever they want lol,’ wrote a fan account.
Fans and former NFL players were shocked by the referees – with some thinking it was rigged
The one who got it the worst was Ravens lineman Ronnie Stanley, who was hit three times in the first half with illegal formation calls.
According to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, Stanley said, ‘he felt the refs were trying to make an example out of him with [the] illegal formation call. Said it was not called the way the team was told it would be called when the pro refs were at training camp practices.’
Zrebiec also reported that Stanley said, ‘he was looking at how the Chiefs tackles were lining up and he couldn’t understand why [the] Ravens were getting called and KC wasn’t. He’s calling for accountability with refs.’