NFL still using officials to keep viewers by keeping game close

RJ in Lafayette said

Subconscious bias by some officials and conspiracy by the league are completely different. And there is an obvious bias by officials not to call major penalties in championship games--especially at the end of games. The non-call last year was a bridge too far and needed to be called. The non-call OPF at the end of the Minnesota game was not nearly as egregious; had I been the official, given the circumstances, I don't believe I would have called it.

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You might not have called it, but it's a play that should be called every time. Extending the arm to get separation is pretty easy to see. SF got tagged with an OPI on one of the biggest plays of the game and cost SF a FG opportunity to end the first half of the Super Bowl.

My biggest beef with officiating isn't that bad calls are made. My biggest beef has always been a lack of consistency with calls made. That lack of consistency and subjectivity makes it too easy for officials to control how games are played, and makes it tempting to make biased calls because the subjectiveness of calls can cover over some of those biases.

Not a conspiracy, but it's clear there is a lack of accountability for poor officiating. That's a Riveron and NFL problem that needs to get remedied. I don't see it happening though. The money continues to roll in and there is really no incentive for the NFL to make any drastic changes.