It didn't take long for the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles to get chippy in their NFC Championship showdown.
These are two division rivals with no love lost for one another. The fact there were such high stakes attached only made matters worse. The blue touch paper was lit and cooler heads did not prevail.
The referees had their hands full. They also made some egregious penalty calls in quick succession to put the Commanders on the back foot.
The first saw a clear holding overlooked, which led to a fourth-down conversion courtesy of A.J. Brown over Marshon Lattimore. This was followed by the cornerback getting called for a questionable defensive pass interference foul in the end zone and an unnecessary roughness infringement despite the wideout pushing off his helmet.
Hurts to Brown to convert on 4th & 5!
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You couldn't make it up.
Commanders were dealt harsh justice with egregious officiating
Washington did a good job of shooting themselves in the foot in the first half with two turnovers and key mistakes in critical moments. They weren't helped by the officiating, which left them with a mountain to climb.
It was a complete disaster. The Commanders had their backs against the wall on the road and the hostile environment didn't help. Even so, the refs just couldn't help themselves to keep momentum churning in Philadelphia's favor.
One terrible call is bad enough. Three in a row is unacceptable. Not that the Eagles were complaining as they ran riot over the Commanders.
This was always going to be a fine margins situation for the Commanders. They were underdogs coming into the game with good reason despite generating some significant momentum throughout the postseason so far. he refs have one job to do — albeit a difficult one — but they won't look back on this sequence with much pleasure.
The Eagles benefitted and held a comfortable lead at the interval. They had the officiating to thank.