The Patriots' Week 6 win over the Saints will mostly be remembered for marking the third consecutive win for the rebuilding team, highlighted by another impressive performance from second-year quarterback Drake Maye. Not only did he throw a 53-yard touchdown pass on the opening series, but he topped that on the next drive with a 61-yard touchdown pass again to DeMario Douglas, which Patriots fans will count despite the referees negating it with a penalty.
That has become the main takeaway from the game, as the officials were overly present in another game this season.
The negated touchdown was just one of the many questionable calls made by the NFL official group, led by Adrian Hill, during the game, and they almost made it impossible for the game to be played fairly. It brought on a lot of criticism from Patriots fans and those just watching the game, which spoke volumes considering anyone outside New England doesn't care if the Patriots are penalized.
And unfortunately, they're not going to be getting a better crew anytime soon, as the officials on hand for their matchup with the Titans this Sunday are coming off their own controversial game from Sunday Night Football.
The Patriots are in for another rough day against the Titans due to the referee crew on hand
The Lions faced off against the Chiefs on Sunday night, and other than being quite a test for the Super Bowl hopefuls against a perennial Championship team, it could be argued that they were also playing against the referees in Kansas City.
There were several questionable calls made in the game, which seemed to be the usual stunt when the Chiefs are playing. These could have led to a discouraged Lions team that ultimately took a loss in primetime.
The officials, led by Craig Wrolstad, first became a trending topic after overturning a trick play touchdown by Jared Goff due to a confusing and unheard-of rule, which even frustrated the quarterback. It took points away from the Lions, preventing them from getting back into the game to secure the win.
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Another controversial part of their efforts was that the crew didn't penalize the Chiefs a single time throughout the game. Not once. In today's game of football, it's almost unimaginable that a team wouldn't be flagged for a single thing in 60 minutes, but Wrolstad's group accomplished that.
It raises significant concern for this crew to be on hand for the Patriots game this weekend, even if it's not going to be seen by nearly as many people and might not have the same impact as it does on two teams at the top of the conferences.
However, the referees should never dominate a game, and the biggest takeaway shouldn't revolve around their presence, either. That's what New England had to deal with last week, and it doesn't seem outlandish to predict it will probably be the biggest problem again this Sunday.