NFL has some explaining to do on behalf of its officiating crew

Some corners of the NFL world already believe that the league’s officiating crews are pro-Kansas City Chiefs.

Thursday’s season opener between the Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens — which was overseen by a group led by officiating crew chief Shawn Hochuli — didn’t do much to help dissuade that perception, either, as there were some pretty flagrant calls and no-calls that went the Chiefs’ way that the league needs to explain.

On the first drive of the game, the Ravens were penalized three times for illegal formation — twice against offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley, who would draw a third penalty later in the game.

Baltimore was flagged five times in total to Kansas City’s none and Stanley, who drew his first flag on the second play of the game, was surprised there wasn’t so much as a warning.

“The way it was going through the game, I really feel like they were just trying to make an example and they chose me to be the one to do that,” Stanley told reporters . “As far as I saw, they weren't doing it on both sides of the ball, and I know that I was lined up in good position the majority of those calls they made. But we'll go back and watch the film and we'll make sure of it and we'll send it in [to the league office].”

What made Stanley’s penalties so egregious was the fact that the refs weren’t penalizing Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor for what appeared to be numerous false starts for which he should have been flagged.

Taylor, who led the league in false-start penalties in 2023, was spotted for just one in Thursday’s game.

If the penalty issues weren’t bad enough, there’s the whole Steve Spagnuolo incident.

Just nine seconds before halftime and the Ravens on the 7-yard line, the Chiefs defensive coordinator ran down the sideline to call a timeout before Baltimore snapped the ball. Problem being, only head coaches are allowed to call timeouts.

Not only was the whistle blown and the Chiefs afforded the opportunity to line up in a more preferential formation, but they weren’t penalized for clearly breaking NFL rules.

Sure, it was the first game of the year after a seven-month layoff for most officiating crews, but Thursday’s game was a prime example of why everyone comes down so hard on referees. And if the missed calls are going to be as blatant as they were on Thursday, then the NFL needs to nip this issue in the bud.