GLENDALE, Ariz. — Most of the sports world’s attention will be on Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts during Super Bowl LVII on Sunday at State Farm Stadium.
Some focus, too, will be on the NFL officiating crew, particularly Carl Cheffers, the referee for the group that will oversee the game. The officials for the Super Bowl are effectively an all-star crew, made up of the highest-rated at each position. As a result, Cheffers will have just one of his regular-season crew (side judge Eugene Hall) on the field with him Sunday.
Earlier in the week, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell raised eyebrows when he stated that the officiating in the league is the best it ever has been. That didn’t sit well with many football fans, who watched the crews officiating the conference championship games botch some significant calls.
This will be Cheffers’ third Super Bowl as referee. He made his Super Bowl debut in 2017 when the Patriots beat the Falcons. Four years later, he returned for the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl LV win over the Chiefs. In that game, his crew called 11 penalties for 120 yards against Kansas City and just four for 39 yards against the Buccaneers.
Here are some things to watch out for in this game: Cheffers’ crew called an average of 12.59 penalties per game this season, which was 1.48 more than the NFL average. Those penalties equated to an average of 109.94 penalty yards per game, which is 18.68 more than the league average. Cheffers’ crew called the second-most pass interference penalties in the NFL this season.
The Eagles are 6-8 in games refereed by Cheffers, a record that includes a divisional round loss to the Saints in the 2018 playoffs. The Eagles are 2-2 over the past five years in games Cheffers has reffed.
The Chiefs are 16-7 in the 23 games refereed by Cheffers. Cheffers refereed two Chiefs games in 2022 — a Week 5 win against the Raiders and a Week 15 overtime win against the Texans.
For betting trends, since 2010 the Under’ is 10-1 in playoff games refereed by Cheffers. In Cheffers’ previous two Super Bowls, the underdog won the game outright.
Two great quotes during the week from Hurts:
When asked what his best play of the season was, Hurts said, “My best play of the season? The season’s not over.’’
When speaking about the Eagles running game, which set a team record for most rushing touchdowns this season, Hurts said, “In our run game, you have interchangeable pieces back there where everybody’s kind of eating. All those guys, I always tell them, ‘When your phone rings, answer it.’ ’’
Mississippi will have a big role in this Super Bowl. There are a total of 12 players from the state in this Super Bowl.
“It’s special to have that many players from Mississippi,’’ said Eagles defensive lineman Fletcher Cox, a native of Yazoo City who went to Mississippi State. “Who would have thought we’d have 12 players from Mississippi playing in the Super Bowl? All of us come from small towns. We all get to represent state of Mississippi, and it’s very special.’’
Eagles receiver A.J. Brown, from Starkville and Ole Miss, said: “It means everything to the town of Starkville. I know they’re proud of us. We lived in the country. It shows to the kids, you can make it out if you put your mind to it and take the right route.’’
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