OutKick.com reported that NFL fans are fuming over officiating decisions in Week 3 games, while Major League Baseball faced criticism for handling the final regular season Sunday unevenly. The sports media outlet, which publishes a daily column called 'Nightcaps,' detailed specific grievances regarding rule enforcement in football and scheduling logistics in baseball ahead of the postseason.
The criticism of NFL officiating centered on a play in the Sunday game between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Dolphins were trailing 17-10 at the start of the fourth quarter when Chop Robinson, a defensive end for Miami, hit Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The column stated that Robinson appeared to follow the rules for hitting a quarterback by using his arms to brace his fall rather than landing with his full body weight. Despite this, officials called it a penalty. The writer argued that Rule 12, Section 2, Article 11(b) of the NFL rulebook is subjective, specifically regarding the requirement that a defender not land on a passer with "all or most of his body weight." The column claimed that such rules make it nearly impossible for defenders to make legal hits, stating that there is no accountability for what was described as bad calls.
Additional frustration was directed at a pass interference call in a game involving the Los Angeles Rams, which the column said cost the team the game. The writer noted that NFL officiating has been a recurring issue for a decade, describing the current state of the rules and calls as "unfathomably bad." Other notable events from Week 3 included Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence's performance and a dispute between a ballboy and Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen over a football.
In Major League Baseball, the column highlighted a scheduling decision made by Commissioner Rob Manfred. The Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs played a meaningless Game 162 at Tropicana Field in Florida on Sunday. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles were rained out of their game, and MLB told those teams not to worry about making up the game. The column characterized this as a "baffling" and "BS move" by MLB, contrasting it with the requirement for the Red Sox and Cubs to travel for a game that had no impact on their standings. The MLB postseason was set to begin the following day with four games starting at 2 p.m., including a matchup between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.