Football fans believe the NFL refs are “rigging” the Green Bay Packers-Philadelphia Eagles Wild Card Round playoff game following a controversial call on the game’s opening play.
Packers star return man Keisean Nixon fielded the opening kickoff and lost the football after receiving a brutal a helmet-to-helmet hit. The ball came loose, and the NFL refs curiously determined that the Eagles made a clear recovery after a thorough review:
Eagles lay a big hit to force a turnover on the opening kickoff!
📺: #GBvsPHI on FOX
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/3FCqI3NcIT— NFL (@NFL) January 12, 2025
So, @MarkTauscher65 is the half of @WildeAndTausch who is often accused of being a “homer,” not me. That being said …
• Is this not a crown-of-the-helmet hit?
• Didn’t the from-above angle clearly show Nixon got the ball back? pic.twitter.com/whSGClZwNb— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) January 12, 2025
Take a closer look from the overhead angle, and it certainly looks like that Nixon recovered the football. But at the very least, it shouldn’t have been ruled conclusive enough to award possession to Philly:
Packers fumble. It looks like Nixon has control of the ball while on the ground and then the ball was taken from him. Refs reviewed and said Eagles got the ball pic.twitter.com/hRxJpnhz8U
— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) January 12, 2025
Naturally, fans wasted no time accusing the NFL refs of fixing this game for the home team:
“How is it not clear returner recovered own fumble? And for Tom Brady to say helmet to helmet shot as clean hit? Wow! Doesn’t help @NFL with the “rigged” crowd. Bad look,” a disgruntled fan wrote.
“What am I not seeing? Rigged league is rigged. Nothing to see here,” said another.
“Ah ok so we’re not even going to pretend the NFL hasn’t rigged this game for the Eagles. Packers clearly recover and they still rule it as a lost fumble,” one fan wrote.
“Refs confirmed bet on the eagles,” a fan quipped.
“I want the Eagles to win but that call by the Refs on the turnover is BS. Clearly, Green Bay recovered the football. This game may just be rigged. I have a hard time believing it but that was clearly the Packers recovery,” wrote another.
“Refs on eagles side. Worst call I’ve ever seen,” a fan remarked.
The missed helmet-to-helmet hit made this an even more controversial ruling by the NFL refs. If they didn’t miss it, it would have nullified the Eagles’ fumble recovery.
NFL Refs Under Fire Again
The officials have already made their fair share of mistakes on Wild Card Weekend, so you can add this one to the library. Don’t forget Patrick Surtain II getting away with blatant defensive holding on Dalton Kincaid on Sunday, or the questionable offensive PI call against George Pickens on Marlon Humphrey.
