When it comes to the biggest game of the year, people often tend to want the players to keep playing rather than being halted multiple times for minor calls. JJ Watt does not share the same sentiment.
He noted that there were a lot of violations during Super Bowl 58. The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers have gotten away with some which bothered him.
In his latest appearance on the Pat McAfee show, JJ Watt blasted the officiating team of Super Bowl 58 and how the game is officiated in general. Particularly, their lack of holding calls.
“With all these slow-motion replays there are a lot of times that fans are complaining about a hold. As an NFL pass rusher, you know that you’re never gonna get that call,” the NFL great said.
Calls the 49ers never got in Super Bowl 58
Notably, 49ers defender Nick Bosa blasted the Chiefs offensive line for holding a lot before Super Bowl 58. Fans along with 49ers CEO Jed York then backed up the claim after the game. This led the 49ers faithful to closely observe clips throughout the four quarters and overtime such that they could check the calls. Some were pointing out a crucial 3rd & 6 holding call on Fred Warner during overtime.
Watt outlines how this must be frustrating for the 49ers defense and the rest of the league. He even sprinkles in some personal experiences when he was still in the league.
“As a pass rusher, it is extremely frustrating. There is no question that every great pass rusher in the game is having to hold calls missed on them multiple times. You definitely do have situations where you know they are holds. But, you know that you’re not going to get the call. Then, you have situations where they are holds and you know you got screwed. You should have gotten the call but you didn’t,” he declared.
Watt expects change after 49ers vs. Chiefs
There is one thing that he hopes to see Roger Goodell and the league change come next season. Watt wants the penalties to be less such that more of them are called throughout the league.
“It has to be outside of the body where the guy is literally pulling you and it’s like away from your body… Refs understand that a 10-yard penalty is a big penalty in the NFL. I think if you made holding a five-yard penalty, I think that it’s going to be called much more fairly because it’s not as crippling,” Watt concluded.
It is a long way before the league is able to change these rules. Hopefully, the narrow loss of the 49ers in Super Bowl 58 becomes a benchmark example of why holding needs to be called more.
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