Thanks, Refs!
September 28th, 2025
No flag on the play as Chris Godwin has his jersey used as a leash by an Eagles defensive player.
As bad as the officiating was today, Joe has to wonder if the NFL wants the Eagles back in the Super Bowl as the NFC representative.
Chris Godwin’s jersey was yanked badly on a pass en route to him (photo above). An official is supposed to be staring at Godwin. No call.
The same thing happened to Emeka Egbuka. No call.
The Bucky Irving fumble (non-fumble)? Why was the FOX TV crew seemingly certain the call would be overturned?
It’s brutal when the officials are so pivotal in a close game. Tom Brady was even calling out defensive holding of Sterling Shepard (not called) just before Baker Mayfield threw his heinous red zone interception.
Regular readers here know Joe is not one to moan about officiating, but today was that bad. Horrible.
September 28th, 2025 at 5:02 pm
Nothing will be done
September 28th, 2025 at 5:03 pm
What about the text book hip drop tackle that almost broke Bucky’s ankle?!?!?!?
September 28th, 2025 at 5:04 pm
Well the refs def didn’t favor the home team!
September 28th, 2025 at 5:04 pm
It’s very obvious that the NFL have decided that having a dominant team is good for viewership. They did it with the Pats, they did it with the Chiefs and now they’re doing it with the Eagles. You build one team up to be the “big bad wolf” of the league and people tune in to either see them dominate or see them fall and when the team doesn’t do the job well enough themselves you have the refs give them favorable calls.
September 28th, 2025 at 5:04 pm
And weren’t the Eagles favored by 6.5? I am darn near done
September 28th, 2025 at 5:06 pm
What Farmer said unfortunately it seems to be true…
September 28th, 2025 at 5:07 pm
Have you watched weeks 1-3? How about from years 1976-2019, 2023-current?
This is the officiating Tampa has always got, outside the reprieve of the Brady years.
September 28th, 2025 at 5:08 pm
Its ridiculous how many obvious pass interference calls the refs dis not call on the eagles. Especially when you clearly see refs high fiving Eagles players before the game…..
September 28th, 2025 at 5:09 pm
Joe you will see on replay the eagles did it all game long. Z Baun did not have as many white jerseys all game, the eagles secondary had more than he did just in routes run before a mayfield pass. I don’t mind a little contract but they were dragging guys all game long with no penalties. Shame on the Bucs for not doing the same. The only thing the officiating crew seemed worried about today was touchy special teams penalties.
September 28th, 2025 at 5:10 pm
This one was bad ~ 2 TOs that were not (Bake should’ve thrown that ball away), but there should’ve been a defensive mauling called on Shepherd
September 28th, 2025 at 5:12 pm
Not a conspiracy, it’s bad officiating. Watch the next eagles game. I bet whoever they play will benefit from the horrendous non calls in this one
September 28th, 2025 at 5:13 pm
It’s amazing to me that NOBODY complaint about the bucs special team( they cannot outplay my grandmother) that coach MUST be our coach buddy buddy otherwise he would had been fire long ago!!
September 28th, 2025 at 5:14 pm
Here we go with conspiracy theories. The refs could give a crap who makes the SB. It was just bad officiating. And then Joe piles on with “The Bucky Irving fumble (non-fumble)? Why was the FOX TV crew seemingly certain the call would be overturned?” What FOX channel were you watching? I didn’t hear anyone (Brady or Burkhardt) say the play should be overturned. They said it was too close to call, and because it was called a fumble on the field, the call stood.
September 28th, 2025 at 5:14 pm
That photo says it all. Since week one it seems as though the refs were for the other team. Pretty blatant at times.
September 28th, 2025 at 5:15 pm
Had a Blocked kick for 6 BAD CALLS, and it was still a one score game….
September 28th, 2025 at 5:16 pm
Chuckys Bucs Says:
September 28th, 2025 at 5:12 pm
Not a conspiracy, it’s bad officiating. Watch the next eagles game. I bet whoever they play will benefit from the horrendous non calls in this one
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How about when the refs gave Atlanta 7 chances from the 1 yard line to get a TD? To go along with about 20 other crap calls in that game.
How about vs the Jets when the Bucs set a record for number of holding calls on a drive … and as they say, you can call holding on every play, so don’t give some crap that they were real, it’s all about if the refs want to call it or not. Not to mention the fact on the FG “block” the Jets player hit Klein, which should have negated the TD. Not to mention the fact the Jets WR did not catch the TD ball they got on 4th down, it was a clear bobble, yet they got a TD. Then e2 makes a huge catch that isn’t even reviewed, and was certainly more of a catch than that bogus TD they gave the Jets.
It’s every week.
September 28th, 2025 at 5:17 pm
Definitely rigged. The NFL wants the teams with big markets and stars to win for maximum advertising revenue. Having said that it is time to fire the special teams coach and cut the punter. Keep McLaughlin he redeemed himself and set an outdoor longest FG record. Have you noticed but Australians are flooding the college ranks as punters. They come from Rugby or Australian rules Football (AFI) and run off to one side before kicking it. They can avoid the rush and run the ball for a first down if they have to. Get one of those. Ohio State specializes in them.
September 28th, 2025 at 5:18 pm
I agree with you Joe…brutal officiating today.
Yet in spite of that we almost pulled it out.
We sure do have some tough guys on our team.
Baker was favoring that right arm all game, #78 and #14 to play the entire game that heat….incredible fortitude.
This is a tough team…very tough team.
Much respect for all of them.
September 28th, 2025 at 5:19 pm
blocked kick based on film to start the game siriani yelling i told you. bowles lost this game
September 28th, 2025 at 5:20 pm
The league will send the Bucs a letter Wednesday mentioning the missed pass interference calls. Too late to do anything about it says the league.
September 28th, 2025 at 5:33 pm
The league has their favorites, hard to watch sometimes. Seems every game this year we have had to battle the refs. Maybe the Glazers need to hand out some stuffed envelopes to the officiating crews before the game starts.
September 28th, 2025 at 5:35 pm
I can’t believe I’m about to say this sentence, but….I agree w RodMunch
September 28th, 2025 at 5:37 pm
You would think that by now the coaching staff would have them tuck their damn shirts in. What a liability.
September 28th, 2025 at 5:41 pm
Rod Munch, you go boy!!!!!!!
There sure as hell are conspiracies in the NFL.
Bucs are a small market team and these officials evidently don’t feel like they should be calling games down the middle anymore for the Bucs.
These last two weeks have been an utter crap-show in terms of one sided officiating against the Bucs!!
It’s so BLATENT that I feel like they’re doing this crap on purpose.
September 28th, 2025 at 5:42 pm
Joe’s, thanks for putting out this article showing the video of the ripped undershirts that Quinyon Mitchell was doing all game against Godwin and Ebuka.
And I mean ALL FREAKEN GAME it was happening….
September 28th, 2025 at 5:43 pm
It is amazing how certain professions are never held accountable. You have to wonder why, or do you…
September 28th, 2025 at 5:49 pm
The refs let one of the Eagles begin to tackle one of the Bucs before the ball even came to him.
It’s challenging when you’ve got to beat both the opposing team and the refs.
September 28th, 2025 at 5:49 pm
The officiating was so atrocious today in favor of the Eagles that I claiming CORRUPTION.
This was dubious and sports gambling related is my assertion.
Not a good look, NFL.
September 28th, 2025 at 5:49 pm
Thats now two weeks in A row now these clowns screw us as refs.
September 28th, 2025 at 5:49 pm
Bucky Irving didn’t fumble—his wrist was clearly down. Look it up: the wrist counts like the ankle and is treated the same as two feet inbounds on a sideline catch. That was not a fumble.
The Bucs’ wide receivers were constantly held, and our pass rushers were flat-out tackled—blatant holding that went uncalled. Meanwhile, the Eagles’ left and right guards were false starting nearly every snap. Whether they’re jumping the count or their new center is just slow, it’s obvious and consistent.
The Eagles seem to get away with penalties on almost every play. It’s reminiscent of the *Legion of Boom* Seahawks defense—when you commit a foul on every snap, officials hesitate to call all of them. It blends in, and refs start asking, *“Is this one really worse than the ones I’ve been letting go?”*
If the NFL ever starts calling games consistently and fairly, the Eagles’ edge disappears. Right now, it feels like the same officiating bias we saw with the Chiefs, the Rams, or—even as a Bucs fan, I’ll admit—during our Super Bowl run with Brady, when we got a few generous calls (said with some humor it was Our Bucs YAY FOR US LOL!). But before that, it was the Patriots under Brady and Belichick who had the advantage for **more than a decade**—whether it was their system, timing, or how games were officiated, they always seemed to get the benefit of the doubt.
Like the Eagles seem to right now…
September 28th, 2025 at 5:51 pm
Also, WHY DIDN’T THE CLOCK STOP WHEN Baker ran out of bound at the 6:00 mark in the 4th Qtr???!?
We lost 33 seconds on that play. Conplete and utter BS by the refs and clock operator today. They’re lucky I don’t know where they live.
September 28th, 2025 at 5:52 pm
Bring back the tear away jerseys from the 70’s! I have to agree the Bucs get some very incompetent officials for their games. This is the same thing we complain about every year. The league is too busy making money to care about officials ability.
September 28th, 2025 at 5:54 pm
Seriously JOE. THE CATCH LAST WEEK THAT WASNT EVEN REVIEWED NOW THE FUMBLE THIS WEEK. they have replay for a reason and yet still can’t get it right. Every week we play an opponent plus the refs. It’s frustrating
September 28th, 2025 at 5:55 pm
Wasn’t it Goodell who said that the NFL is now WWE?
September 28th, 2025 at 6:01 pm
The Eagles had at least 5-10 really obvious P.I. plays that didn’t get called. It was another horrible officiating debacle that went heavily against the Bucs. We just can’t catch a break.
September 28th, 2025 at 6:07 pm
When the Bucs get a bad call their way (rare!) I just laugh. The league is 20 seasons in debt to the Bucs on bad calls. This game was maddening.
September 28th, 2025 at 6:22 pm
It was bad last week as well.
Life would be easy if Bucs only had to deal with the opposing team every week. Instead they deal with the refs and us fans deal with the Bucs being treated as a second class team.
Thank the lord they had a camera angle behind Baker that showed Godwin waving for it and the ball being tipped cause watching it live was brutal. Still a mistake by Baker to try and throw that one but easier to understand and accept after that replay.
September 28th, 2025 at 6:28 pm
The NFLbrass is definitely bias is which team wins or loses and the Refs are leading the charge
September 28th, 2025 at 7:23 pm
Interesting how they call jersey tugging holding on offensive linemen but let the DBs get away with it. Holding a receivers jersey takes them or slows them out of the route. If they call it on linemen call it on DBs.
September 28th, 2025 at 7:44 pm
Erik with Pilot and Driver™ Says:
September 28th, 2025 at 5:51 pm
Also, WHY DIDN’T THE CLOCK STOP WHEN Baker ran out of bound at the 6:00 mark in the 4th Qtr???!?
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Clock doesn’t stop outside of 2 mins in the first half, and 5 mins in the second half.
September 28th, 2025 at 7:46 pm
Allen Lofton Says:
September 28th, 2025 at 6:28 pm
The NFLbrass is definitely bias is which team wins or loses and the Refs are leading the charge
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The way you know this is by how the calls worked in Brady as here. I remember, week after week, stating in game threads, WOW, we actually got a call. Then it would happen again, and again, and again. I wasn’t the only person pointing out how sudden the Bucs weren’t getting robbed on every call, and instead were robbing other teams. That’s what you get with a Superstar QB on your team, that draws big ratings.
September 28th, 2025 at 8:19 pm
Three games? Last year? Past five years? Past twenty years?
Try 49 years!
It has become an institution in the NFL to rob the Bucs blind with bad call after bad call after no call!
September 28th, 2025 at 8:23 pm
It’s almost as if the NFL is fixed!!
Terrible!
Next, they’ll be telling us Wrestling isn’t real!
September 28th, 2025 at 9:20 pm
Same thing they have been doing for the Chiefs. Philly is a big market team and as long as they are in contention they get more eyeballs and the league knows it. The Eagles defense held our receivers all day long.
September 28th, 2025 at 9:20 pm
The NFL officiating overall is horrendous. It gets worse every year. It’s too fast on too big a stage for refs to keep up.
September 28th, 2025 at 9:31 pm
I always say I hate complaining about the refs, but it’s getting hard not to. Brady even talked about it several times. They were grabbing jerseys several times while receivers were running. I don’t care how subtle it looked, that affects your route.
The other thing that drove me nuts was the RG standing up and looking back at HURTS. And as he would turn, and while he was still moving before he was set, they snapped the ball
Illegal motion, false start, whatever you want to call it. The guy is supposed to be set for a second before they snap. They could have called that 15 times during the game.
The Rams were complaining about it last week during the tush push but they do it constantly
September 28th, 2025 at 9:34 pm
They keep expanding what they can replay and I will keep screaming from the rooftops. They need officials, whether in the stadium or New York, that have access to all the camera angles watching the game and every single play and if they need to tell the officials on field -standby, give me a second. You might’ve got this one wrong or there might be an obvious penalty.
They should stop it and get it right.
Get rid of the red challenge flags. The whole purpose is to get the call right. The technology is there to do this seamlessly and hardly affect the flow the game unless they really need to take a look at something.
September 28th, 2025 at 9:34 pm
I had to watch this game at a sports bar. Even the Eggles fan sitting next to me agreed that the officiating was atrocious.
September 28th, 2025 at 10:04 pm
Eagles were told to hold all game and the refs didn’t start actually calling it until the game was out of hand. I got news for you. I will replace you with consistency. AI will do it botch! Go Bucs! See you birds in the playoffs, and yes with a vengeance!
September 28th, 2025 at 10:30 pm
Don’t forget last week’s game against the Jets, there was enough laundry on the field to move Jefferson back to a deluxe apartment in the sky. No coincidence that both that game and this game were against Northeast teams.
September 28th, 2025 at 11:41 pm
Yall are delusional refs have never ever cheated for eagles to win never
. Bucs are our neimisis but trust missed calls on both sides of the field the only team that has balant calls is chiefs.. great game though
September 29th, 2025 at 7:20 am
NFL is an Entertainment company, not a sports competition company
September 29th, 2025 at 7:49 am
Look at the Atlanta game two nonsense roughing calls against us, then a no call when two falcons hold Baker up for the third one to drill him way after the play was over. This anti buc ref crap is the way the NFL rolls. It’s not just this year and it has decided games. The Bucs are not the only team that regularly gets hosed. It may be a big market vs small market thing. I’m glad we are making noise about it. Let’s keep making noise and show up at the games.
We will see what is done about our chronic problematic special teams. This does demoralize the rest of the team. It can not continue. Our special teams is really disappointing.
September 29th, 2025 at 9:00 am
I don’t get it. Seems like every game we have to overcome the refs. I mean blatant issues. I hope that the Bucs contact the NFL to put it in the Refs minds.
September 29th, 2025 at 10:46 am
IF you don’t think the NFL and Vegas have a partnership you are clueless. That is one reason an NFL team came to Vegas, not to mention the consistent gambling adds and commercials throughout game days. The refs get a cut of the $$$ the NFL gets a cut of $$$ and I am quite sure it is player’s contracts. Have you ever wondered why teams need all those people in the booths when you can have the entire coaching staff on the field? what are they calling what are they doing? The NFL does not care if you know its fixed, rigged, scripted whatever you want to call it, do you know why?? they don’t care! Because you will watch it anyway. Just like how WWE fans come knowing it’s a script. Its every sport.
September 29th, 2025 at 2:02 pm
If a tackler touches you and the ball hits the ground its considered dead ball the ground can’t force the fumble horrible officials..the work before was to many flags..this game was the refs pulling for the eagles