The Pittsburgh Steelers improved to 6-2 after defeating the New York Giants, 26-18, in their Week 8 matchup for Monday Night Football. Fans roasted quarterback Daniel Jones for costing his team the game with an overthrow and interception in the final seconds of the game.  However, several mistaken calls from NFL refs occurred during the Steelers-Giants game, prompting former NFL star JJ Watt to chime in on social media with a subtle jab against poor officiating.

Retweeting his earlier post parodying the popular “George Washington” skit on Saturday Night Live, Watt commented on the seemingly random rule enforcement from officials game by game. Check out his posts on X, formerly Twitter.

JJ Watt scores refs during Steelers vs. Giants

Former Houston Texans JJ Watt speaks to the fans during his Ring Of Honor Ceremony at halftime during the game between the Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers at NRG Stadium.
© Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

JJ Watt's shots at NFL refs during the Week 8 Steelers-Giants game concerned the call on “roughing the passer,” which the officials called on the Steelers' Alex Highsmith after beating Chris Hubbard on a play in the first half.

While fans complaining about refs are easy to ignore, since most of them just want the officials to call the game in favor of their teams, but if the referees commit too many wrong calls during too many games, it might signal a deeper problem.

“I think the biggest issue is a lack of competent leadership with our officials, which leads to incompetent officiating,” said an anonymous general manager via Matt Verderame for Sports Illustrated in a January 2024 report. “We need new leadership at the department, a position that is expected to open up after the season, I think. But there is no consistency at all. It's not even from group to group. It's the same group within games.”

Meanwhile, an anonymous NFC defensive coordinator chimed in with suggestions on how to improve NFL officiating.

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“There's wild inconsistency week to week and crew to crew,” the DC said. “[We need] full-time officials graded on a universal scale. The top 20% get promoted, and the bottom 20% get fired. Officiating shouldn't be a hobby. Players quit their part-time jobs 50 years ago. It's time to catch the officiating up.”

Finally, another DC from the AFC also suggested changes to specific rules and calls.

“I would make punches to the head and face mask that runners use on defenders, that we glorify as stiff-arms, illegal. They are blatant hands to the neck and face area,” the DC said. “We don't allow defensive linemen to do it to offensive linemen.”

Outlook

While these suggestions sounded good, the complaints about terrible officiating continue, and it has also affected other pro sports like basketball. For instance, questionable calls have decided several NBA games for the past few years.

Perhaps it might take other high-profile voices like JJ Watt to issue their complaints for the league to follow through on any proposed changes.