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DeAndre Hopkins Calls Out Refs for Super Bowl Disaster

By Joe Summers

Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (8) catches a pass against Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Oren Burks (42) in the third quarter in Super Bowl LIX at Ceasars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (8) catches a pass against Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Oren Burks (42) in the third quarter in Super Bowl LIX at Ceasars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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Going into the Super Bowl, how the game would be refereed was one of the largest storylines. The Kansas City Chiefs were chastised constantly for seemingly getting favorable calls in big moments and many wondered if the same would happen against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Not quite. The Chiefs were dominated in every facet of the game in a 40-22 loss that only looks better because of some garbage-time points from Kansas City's offense. Virtually every part of the game plan failed and now the organization has difficult decisions to make on several key free agents.

WR DeAndre Hopkins is one of those players no longer under contract. While the Chiefs were clearly outplayed by the Eagles, Hopkins flipped the referee narrative on its head in his postgame comments, suggesting Kansas City got the short of the officiating stick.

Chiefs WR DeAndre Hopkins Calls Out Super Bowl Referees

"I saw a lot of things in the media about the refs," Hopkins said to the media after the loss. "There was a lot of touchy calls. Are y'all gonna report that? Are y'all gonna talk about the refs now?"

To Hopkins' point, there were multiple questionable calls that went the Eagles' way, notably an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Nick Bolton that kept a stalled drive alive. Even still, it's impossible to put the blame on the officiating for this disaster. Kansas City was dominated and not ready to play. That falls on both the players and the coaches, and now the entire organization will spend months trying to figure out what went wrong.

Hopkins played only 38% of the snaps, catching two passes for 18 yards and a TD. He's a pending free agent with an uncertain future, so it'll be interesting to see if the Chiefs decide to offer him an extension.

During the game, Kansas City was penalized seven times for 75 yards while Philadelphia had eight penalties for 59 yards. Things were mostly even from an officiating standpoint, so Hopkins' comments aren't going to find much support.

The Chiefs have no one to blame but themselves. Referees didn't cost them the three-peat and there's no reason to suggest as much. Here's hoping the team uses this defeat as motivation to come back stronger next year.

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