J.J. Watt Called Out Refs After Giants Got Flagged on Awful Call

Now that he’s retired, J.J. Watt can criticize NFL officials all he wants without the risk of being fined—and he took advantage of that freedom on Sunday night after taking issue with a call in the Bills-Giants game. 

In the second quarter of the game in Buffalo, the Bills were bailed out by a weak roughing the passer call against the Giants’ Bobby Okereke. After two offensive penalties, Buffalo had a first-and-25 from its own 10-yard line. Josh Allen’s pass to Dawson Knox was incomplete, but Buffalo was gifted a first down when Okereke was flagged for a roughing penalty. A replay showed, however, that Okereke barely touched Allen. His hit wasn’t late, wasn’t to Allen’s head and was hardly a hit at all, but it still drew a flag. 

As a former defensive lineman, Watt couldn't believe the call, and used the opportunity to make a broader point about officiating in the NFL. 

Lack of accountability for refs is infuriating for players because they don’t receive the same leniency.

Players get flagged, fined & can potentially win/lose games on erroneous calls.

Refs get “corrected” privately after the fact and “may” lose out on postseason opportunities. https://t.co/6BMvM4N7wZ

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) October 16, 2023

The Okereke play wasn’t the only controversial call on Sunday. On the final play of the Bills-Giants game, Bills cornerback Taron Johnson appeared to interfere with Giants tight end Darren Waller on a pass in the end zone. Johnson was not penalized and the pass fell incomplete, sealing Buffalo’s victory. Earlier in the day, the Browns benefited significantly from a controversial penalty in the closing minutes of their upset over the 49ers. Those are exactly the sort of game-changing plays that Watt was talking about in his tweet.