Pat McAfee calls out NFL referees for “racist” call on Cooper DeJean during Eagles vs Commanders

NFL: Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Source: Imagn

Pat McAfee calls out NFL referees for “racist” call on Cooper DeJean during Eagles vs Commanders – Source: Imagn

Pat McAfee had a novel tongue-in-cheek interpretation for why the referees called a pass interference against the Eagles’ Cooper DeJean against the Commanders. The officials had given some baffling calls, but none was more inexplicable than the one they called against the Philadelphia cornerback.

The Eagles’ player was marking Noah Brown and barely put a hand on his back as the receiver came back on his route. The ball was not perfectly accurate and he had to stretch for it and Cooper DeJean’s arms tangled as the pass went to ground. It should have been an incompletion based on casual interpretation.

Instead, the referees called it a foul play for pass interference. Pat McAfee was not the only one who could not believe their eyes. The Eagles corner is a rare breed in that he is a white cornerback and the ESPN show host commented that the only explanation why that penalty was given must have been because they were “racist”. He hilariously wrote on X/Twitter,

“Pretty racist PI there @NFLOfficiating”

Cooper DeJean not the only victim of inconsistency by referees in Commanders vs. Eagles game

The consensus online is that the referees did not have a good game on Thursday Night Football when the Commanders took on the Eagles.

If Cooper DeJean thought that the officials made a mistake, he was not the only one. His counterpart for Washington, Mike Sainristil, would have been similarly baffled by an illegal contact penalty where he barely laid hands on A.J. Brown.

In the same drive, the referees somehow failed to spot a clear facemask on Jalen Hurts. The quarterback also was not given a roughing-the-passer call despite having his head driven into the ground which led to a concussion evaluation on the sidelines.

The standard of refereeing has been questioned by analysts all season, with multiple instances where fans have complained. There have been some game-changing instances, like the facemask call on Sam Darnold that was missed against the Los Angeles Rams as the Minnesota Vikings were going for a game-tying drive.

Pat McAfee might have been joking with his take but there have been many instances in 2024 when observers have been left wondering what the officials were thinking.