Donte Whitner had some interesting views about his former team’s loss at this year’s Super Bowl. And it seems like the Kansas City Chiefs‘ defensive tackle, Chris Jones, didn’t take too kindly to the former safety’s comments.
In an appearance on the Kay Adams’ show, Up & Adams, the former 49ers player expressed a unique take on the Chiefs’ championship win. He felt that San Francisco was dealt the shorter end of the stick as they weren’t just facing the previous year’s SB winners but Taylor Swift’s influence and the referees as well.
“I think the 49ers played against the refs as well,” said Whitner. “when we look at that film, and you see bear hugs on those defensive ends, right? And you really see it in blatant moments in the game. The 49ers played against Taylor Swift, the refs, and the Kansas City Chiefs, all three.”
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While Adams had a hearty laugh at the namedropping of Travis Kelce’s girlfriend, one Chiefs player wasn’t amused. In a since-deleted tweet, the defensive tackle came to his team’s defense. Jones countered by saying that Whitner was making excuses for the 49ers’ mistakes and told him to “shut up.” He firmly believes that the Chiefs won fair and square and that San Francisco’s mistakes in the big game cost them their 25-22 win. The now-deleted post on X read, “Tend to make excuses for your failures. Shut up.”
While Jones seems to have had second thoughts about his blunt reaction, Whitner’s comments certainly got a lot of ears perked up. While the “Taylor Swift Effect” can’t be denied in boosting the Chiefs’ and NFL’s popularity, it wouldn’t have any effect on the outcome of the game. As for the question of referees, let’s take a look at the calls that were taken during the game on Feb 11.
A rare, uncontroversial Super Bowl
While discussions about a particular game-changing call by the referees are normal after a big game, this time’s championship was refreshingly clean. Last year, it was the disputed call of defensive holding by the Eagles’ James Bradberry that Philadelphia fans feel was the reason for their failure to lift the Lombardi Trophy against the Chiefs.
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Fans were happy to see that the refs didn’t interfere excessively in the gameplay unless absolutely necessary. Bill Vinovich was the head referee of the game, his third time mediating the big game. Both the 49ers and the Chiefs each got six penalties in the game, while the winners had more penalized yards. Nick Bolton was fined over $8,000 as a fine for his horse-collar tackle of quarterback Brock Purdy in the second quarter. This “unnecessary roughness” flag also cost Kansas City 15 extra yards as a penalty.
Chiefs’ Nick Bolton reportedly fined for unnecessary roughness penalty in Super Bowl https://t.co/cA62F7iRjT
— kansasdotcom (@kansasdotcom) February 20, 2024
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The Chiefs’ victory was a comeback game as they took advantage of a few overtime mistakes by the San Fransisco. Not to say that having one of the top quarterbacks in the league, Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid’s Tom and Jerry play, and Steve Spagnuolo’s airtight defense with Chris Jones weren’t reasons enough for their second consecutive Super Bowl win.
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