Forget Josh Allen’s issue for a while. Remember the Super Bowl XL matchup that happened at Ford Field in 2006? It remains one of the most controversial games in NFL history—Especially for Seahawks fans as their team lost due to some arguably poor officiating. Yes, even now, many believe the officiating unfairly favored the Steelers. Think about Ben Roethlisberger’s inconclusive touchdown and a critical holding penalty on Seattle’s Sean Locklear.

These decisions fueled suspicions of bias, with some alleging the refs were instructed to tighten calls against the Seahawks. Even years later, head official Bill Leavy admitted to making two crucial mistakes in the fourth quarter that impacted the game, and carries that very regret to this day. Sleepless nights just kept reminding him of his mistakes.

“I’ll go to my grave wishing that I’d been better,” he had shared in 2010.

Now fast forward to the present. In Sunday’s AFC game, the league again saw some questionable calls. The major one came when Josh Allen tried to earn the first down, which resulted in a turnover. This incident sparked a buzz among the NFL fans, who slammed at the refs for their call. So, now the question is: When will Roger Goodell fix the officiating issue?

Matt Hasselbeck, who was the Seahawks’ QB at that Super Bowl XL game, chimed in on the debate during his appearance at The Herd with Colin Cowherd show. After Josh Allen’s incident, the host asked the victim of the 18-year-old controversy, Hasselbeck, about his perspective on the controversial calls. The Seahawks legend answered:

“I do think this year in the offseason, they will introduce some sort of change to how we measure a first down. Like you watch tennis, you watch baseball, you watch golf, they have technology that can tell you where a ball goes by the centimeter. Why can’t we do that in football? Why do we still have a bunch of old retired guys holding a chain and say, ‘Oh yeah, 10 yards is like right about there’ one ref on one side, the other official on the other side.

“Traditionally, you try out new technologies like that in the Pro Bowl or in four preseason games. We no longer have a Pro Bowl, we no longer have four preseason games. So when are they going to work the kinks out of technology? I don’t know. But I would expect that there’s going to be at least somebody lobbying for a change in how we measure a first down going forward.”

But before this, he also delved into the topic of why the players don’t voice out against the calls. Well, he thinks usually players avoid openly criticizing refs because they risk getting fined. Instead, they carefully choose their words, often implying things subtly without outright complaining.

So does that mean no one is allowed to complain about any poor calls? Well, fans and analysts do have the opportunity to do so. But for the players, it’s still the same. Hence, Hasselbeck emphasized that it’s high time for Roger Goodell to fix the issue. For this, the former NFLer highlighted how fans expect superstars like Patrick Mahomes to deliver. And even refs, being human, might subconsciously expect the same outcomes. So one can only wait and see what the league decides.

What happened at Josh Allen’s 4-down stop?

In the fourth quarter, the Bills faced a critical moment. Earlier in the drive, they had barely converted a 4th-and-1 after Josh Allen nearly lost the ball. Riding that momentum, they decided to attempt another 4th-and-1 with their signature “tush push” play. But this time, the Chiefs were ready.

Kansas City’s defense swarmed Allen at the line. After thinking about it for a while, the officials initially ruled him just short of the marker.

Actually, the play was chaotic, with players piled up, making it hard to determine the football’s exact position. One official overruled another, and the ruling stood because the replay didn’t show clear evidence to overturn it. On the other hand, the Chiefs, who had been effective at countering the “tush push” throughout the game, handled this stop as well.

The turnover on downs gave Kansas City a golden opportunity. As a result, the Chiefs capitalized, and they rushed for a touchdown to take a 29-22 lead. Since then, the Chiefs held strong, securing a thrilling 32-29 victory over Josh Allen’s team. And this made the Bills Mafia furious on social media.