Richard Sherman was tired of being an NFL official

The Washington Commanders shocked the NFL world by ending the Philadelphia Eagles’ 10-game winning streak with a 36-33 victory on Sunday. A day later, Eagles fans complained that they had cost NFL officials the game.

In Sunday’s game between the two NFC East rivals, the Commanders and Eagles were punished heavily with 93 and 91 yards, respectively. Many questionable calls were made against both teams.

However, the defensive pass interference penalties against Washington cornerback Marshon Lattimore seemed most questionable. Lattimore was charged with pass interference three times, one of which gave the Eagles 38 yards. Two plays later, Lattimore was flagged again, this time for 23 yards. The Eagles eventually kicked a field goal, but were backed up by a paltry 61 yards in the shootout.

Former All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman, now an Amazon Prime analyst, was having none of it and criticized the NFL officiating for the pass interference calls on Lattimore.

“The whole world is geared toward offensive players, so someone has to think differently,” Sherman said on the “Richard Sherman Podcast.” “Those PI calls to Lattimore were absolute horses – t. Absolute horses – t. I’m so tired of this game being so soft and ridiculous and people having the nerve to complain about it. How are these private detectives doing? If the receiver is physical, you have to at least allow the DB to defend. Don’t praise these recipients for saying, “Ohhh, man; he is so physical. He’s so strong.’ And you see him poke the corner into his neck, pushing him off and grabbing him by the collar. And then when the corner takes his hands off him, you think, ‘Oh my God, you can’t grab him.'”

More from Sherman:

“Those PI calls to Lattimore were absolute horses***”@RSherman_25 sounds the Eagles Commander’s office pic.twitter.com/2Cp6s2utwj

— Richard Sherman Podcast (@RShermanPodcast) December 23, 2024

“What if he grabs me by the neck while I’m running? Because anything is acceptable for a receiver, but nothing is acceptable for a corner. Let the boys play. I don’t know what you want from him. Do you want him to stay close while being pushed and not pull away? Have you ever been hit in the face and then hit in the face again and again and then they say, ‘Hey, don’t worry, if he hits you in the face again we’ll say something.’ They’re not.”

He is 100% right. The NFL is designed to favor offense. Everyone wants more points. Over the years, the rules have changed in favor of the receiver, but nothing has ever changed for the defensive back. The league always takes away from the defense and gives in to the offense. Have you seen some of the rough calls?

Of course, nothing is more costly than defensive pass interference. It’s a spot foul. The officials were so bad that Philadelphia quarterback Kenny Pickett could have kept beating AJ Brown. If Brown and Lattimore had touched it at all, they would have thrown the flag at Lattimore.

Lattimore and Brown were all over each other. It was good old-fashioned football between two players who were among the best in their respective positions. If the NFL continues to insist that defensive pass interference is a spot foul, it needs to be verifiable in the future. Of course, that would mean the NFL would admit their mistakes, and we know they hate that.