It didn’t take long for things to heat up on Monday night during the Philadelphia Eagles clash with the Los Angeles Chargers. We were barely out of the first quarter when the game found its first real argument. A near-interception from Jalen Hurts was overturned on review, and no matter where this night goes, that call is going to linger. NFL legend J.J. Watt certainly didn’t buy the explanation.
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“Am I the only one that didn’t see “clear and obvious” evidence to overturn that interception? Possible it wasn’t caught? Absolutely. Clear and obvious? Definitely not,” Watt wrote on X.
Am I the only one that didn’t see “clear and obvious” evidence to overturn that interception?
Possible it wasn’t caught?
Absolutely.
Clear and obvious?
Definitely not.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) December 9, 2025
Hurts had sailed a throw over DeVonta Smith, and safety R.J. Mickens looked like he came down with it. On replay, though, officials ruled he trapped the ball against the turf before fully securing it. Right call or not, the sequence still flipped the field. The Eagles punted after the third-down miss, and their offense has yet to find any rhythm against the Chargers’ defense.
Then came one of the strangest turnovers of the season. Chargers linebacker Troy Dye came away with the ball after a double-fumble sequence sparked by defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand. Hand picked off Hurts, lost the ball, Hurts grabbed it back for a moment, then lost it again before Dye finally fell on it.
Moments earlier, the Eagles had been building momentum with back-to-back chunk plays to Dallas Goedert and A.J. Brown. Suddenly, that drive was gone.
But if this one slips away from Los Angeles, fans are going to circle back to that overturned interception and wonder what might’ve been. And honestly, who can blame them? It feels like every primetime game lately comes with its own stack of officiating debates.
Controversy isn’t limited to Chargers-Eagles
Last night may have effectively shut the door on the Chiefs’ postseason hopes after their loss to Houston, but the bigger conversation coming out of Arrowhead wasn’t about playoff math, but the officiating. Again.
The first moment that sent Texans fans into a boil came on an offside flag that wiped out a fourth-and-1 sneak from C.J. Stroud. On replay, it didn’t really look like anyone jumped; maybe an arm drifted forward, maybe not. Either way, it was enough to fuel the sense that something felt off.
Imago
January 5, 2025, Philadelphia, Pa, U.S.A.: NFL, American Football Herren, USA referee RONALD TORBERT 62 in action during a week 18 game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants Sunday, January. 05, 2025 at Lincoln financial Field in Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia U.S.A. – ZUMAs124 20250105_fap_s124_012 Copyright: xSaquanxStimpsonx
Earlier in the drive, replay assist had already inserted itself into a spot call, overturning the ruling on the field and awarding a first down. Kansas City challenged, and after review, replay assist was deemed wrong. A rather strange sequence that only heightened the sideline frustration before the offside call even arrived.
And this wasn’t an isolated incident. Just a couple nights earlier in the Lions–Cowboys game, Jack Campbell blew through on a blitz, dragged Dak Prescott backward in the end zone, and the play was ruled a safety. After the automatic review, the call was overturned. Detroit went from a 5–3 lead to walking back to the sideline trying to figure out what they had just witnessed.
That’s been the theme all year: no matter how good the matchup, how dramatic the finish, or how well the teams play, the conversation keeps sliding back to officiating. Every week seems to deliver another round of confusion and frame-by-frame breakdowns instead of appreciation for the actual football. It’s pretty sad.
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