NFL Under Fire After Bizarre Pass Interference Penalty Effectively Ends Big ‘Sunday Night Football’ Game
The article discusses a controversial pass interference call during a 2025 Sunday Night Football game between the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles. Late in the game,with the Lions trailing by a touchdown,a questionable defensive pass interference penalty was called against the Lions,which gave the Eagles a crucial first down and effectively ended the game. The call sparked outrage among fans, commentators, and social media users, many of whom saw the penalty as unfair or undeserved, with some describing it as a terrible or game-deciding error.
The controversy was heightened by ongoing concerns about the close relationship between the NFL and sports betting companies like DraftKings and FanDuel, especially in the context of recent gambling-related scandals affecting other sports leagues like the NBA. this environment has made fans skeptical of referee decisions, with some suggesting that human referees are vulnerable to temptation amid increasing sports gambling influence. The article highlights how such incidents damage the integrity and public trust in major sports leagues.
One of the upsides to working closely with gambling companies is the untold amounts of money that will line your coffers.
One of the downsides to working closely with gambling companies is that otherwise benign stories like these can suddenly take on a life of their own.
It’s not exactly unheard of for a prime-time NFL game to end under a cloud of controversy. Given that referees are human, missed or egregious calls are simply a part of the game.
The “Sunday Night Football” game between the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles featured such a call, and had this been 2015, most fans would simply brush this under the rug as referee incompetence.
But it’s not 2015. It’s 2025, and it’s impossible to watch any sporting event without being reminded about DraftKings, FanDuel, or any other sportsbook that has cropped up since sports betting became widely legalized.
Surely you see where this is going.
With less than two minutes left in the game, and the Lions trailing the Eagles by just one touchdown, Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts dropped back to fling a pass to star receiver AJ Brown. It was third down, so the Eagles would presumably have had to punt it back to the Lions.
Only fourth down never came, because the Lions were called for a highly suspect pass interference call that gave Philadelphia a key first down and effectively iced the game for Detroit.
You can watch the questionable call for yourself below:
Cris Collinsworth: “Oh, come on! Come on! That is terrible! That is an absolutely terrible call that’s going to decide this football game! If anything, it’s an offensive push!”
Another brutal NFL pass interference call strikes. 🏈🦓🎙️ #NFL #SNF https://t.co/XYnF7DejvM pic.twitter.com/TRkNZ7kGJG
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 17, 2025
Brown was engaged in a hand fight with Lions cornerback Rock Ya-Sin on the play in question. Most fans saw a no-call at best, as that sort of mutual hand fighting is often overlooked by NFL referees.
At least one fan, announcer Cris Collinsworth, saw a foul — but not on Ya-Sin.
“Oh, come on! Come on!” yelled Collinsworth. “That is terrible! That is an absolutely terrible call that’s going to decide this football game! If anything, it’s an offensive push!”
Social media may not have reached the same conclusion that Collinsworth did about the offensive pass interference, but furious fans made sure to call out the dubious officiating nonetheless.
I can’t believe I spent 3 hrs watching a sporting event for them to just decide “nope, this game-ending defensive pass interference. Thanks for watching!” pic.twitter.com/bhdxo1vDHG
— Greg Cover 1 🏈 (@GregTompsett) November 17, 2025
Some on social media simply wanted an explanation from the NFL:
I’m sorry but the NFL has to EXPLAIN how this is pass interference
This is HORRIBLE. Collinsworth cannot believe it either.
That decided the game. Lions lose. What a joke. pic.twitter.com/I1295FxSlx
— Alec Nolan (@AlecOnFOX7) November 17, 2025
“I’m sorry but the NFL has to EXPLAIN how this is pass interference,” one user posted. “This is HORRIBLE.”
Other NFL fans, meanwhile, only seemed to become further entrenched in the conspiracy theory that the NFL is scripted like professional wrestling:
This was called pass interference to end a game. I can no longer take the NFL serious. Like I said a few weeks ago, it’s WWE. pic.twitter.com/do08c9AnW6
— Nick Wize (@iAmNickWize) November 17, 2025
And a quick glance at any of the furious posts will invariably yield a comment underneath noting how cozy the NFL is with various sports betting sites, like the aforementioned DraftKings and FanDuel.
Given the black eye that the NBA is currently dealing with (players and coaches have been connected with both illicit gambling rings and a mafia-connected illegal poker ring) the NFL has likely seen those comments — and takes them to heart.
Unfortunately for sports leagues in 2025, the “referees are human” line won’t fly when these types of errors occur.
If anything, people will retort, “Yeah, refs are human… which means they’re vulnerable to temptation.”
And that doesn’t bode well for any major sport.
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