Aaron Rodgers came out swinging at NFL referees Monday night after the New York Jets’ loss to the Buffalo Bills.
The officiating crew, led by referee Adrian Hill, called 22 penalties during the game – tied for the most penalties called in any game this season.
Adding insult to injury, the two teams combined for an outrageous 204 yards of penalties, with Rodgers’ Jets being flagged 11 times for 110 yards in their first game without axed head coach Robert Saleh.
The 40-year-old pulled no punches as he ripped Hill and his crew for the stream of penalty calls that continuously halted momentum and pace of play, leading fans to brand the game ‘unwatchable.’
‘It seemed a little ridiculous,’ the quarterback deemed following the 23-20 defeat at MetLife Stadium.
Aaron Rodgers (L) ripped Adrian Hill (R) and his crew for the ‘ridiculous’ penalty calls Monday
Bills edge rusher A.J. Epenesa was called for unnecessary roughness on the veteran that handed New York a first down, while Jets defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw was called for roughing the passer.
Despite one of the penalties going his way, Rodgers slammed both, making a ‘South Park’ reference to hammer home his point.
‘Some of them seemed really bad, including the roughing the passer on me,’ the four-time MVP said.
‘That’s not roughing the passer. We might as well play Sarcastaball if we’re going to call those things. I thought the one on Kinlaw was not roughing the passer, either.’
‘Sarcastaball’ is a reference from a Season 16 episode of ‘South Park’ that included a snippet that criticized NFL officiating.
It was the Jets’ first game since the firing of head coach Robert Saleh but their season went from bad to worse under new interim boss Jeff Ulbrich.
New York reached the red zone on four occasions but converted only once, scoring just 20 points in their fourth defeat of the season.
Bills edge rusher A.J. Epenesa was called for unnecessary roughness on the quarterback
New York reached the red zone on four occasions but converted only once in their fourth loss
And Rodgers didn’t hold back in launching an astonishing attack on his own team.
‘This was a golden opportunity. Some games you win in the NFL, some games you give away. This was a giveaway,’ he said.
‘We were terrible in the red zone. We missed two field goals, we didn’t convert on a two-minute drive.
‘We had plenty of chances. We had the momentum. We had good drives, we moved the ball up and down the field, so (it’s) disappointing.’