Kansas City Chiefs strong safety Tyrann Mathieu (32) reacts after a call during the second quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Controversial penalties in first half of Super Bowl crush Chiefs

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 2/7/21

The Kansas City Chiefs went into halftime of Super Bowl LV down 21-6 largely because of their inability to avoid penalty flags in the first half, several of them controversial.

The Chiefs committed eight penalties for 95 yards in the first half. Incredibly, six of those flags resulted in Buccaneers first downs. That tally already broke a Super Bowl record, as did the total penalty yardage.

According to @EliasSports The Buccaneers’ 6 first downs via penalty are already the most for a team in a #SuperBowl

The previous record was 4, done by 8 teams. pic.twitter.com/inaPvAEjPc

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 8, 2021

First half:
Penalties Yards
Bucs 1 5
Chiefs 8 95*

*most penalty yards in a half in Super Bowl history pic.twitter.com/ku1QpfUxJu

— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) February 8, 2021

Many of the calls were controversial, particularly late in the half. The Buccaneers were able to score a touchdown in the dying seconds of the half thanks in large part to a pair of key holding penalties, one worth 34 yards and one in the end zone. An earlier defensive hold also negated a Tyrann Mathieu interception. Some felt that the passes were uncatchable on two of the calls, and that Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans flopped to earn one of the flags.

MIKE EVANS IS FLOPPING #SuperBowlLV pic.twitter.com/qrzO5NPwUp

— Slightly Biased (@BiasedSlightly) February 8, 2021

"pass interference" pic.twitter.com/oDNSZhcCU1

— Burgers and Blitzes (@NotToBeTrite) February 8, 2021

NBC officiating expert Terry McAulay felt that the penalty calls were harsh when judged by the standard that had been used for the remainder of the season.

Neither defensive hold called on KC comes close to the standard we saw the entire season for that call all season and certainly not what we saw in TB/GB.

— Terry McAulay (@SNFRules) February 8, 2021

Many NFL players and analysts were also unsure about the calls.

Yooo.. okay now these flags getting ridiculous

KC has no chance if the refs keep this up. I think some of these very very questionable too

— Jalen Ramsey (@jalenramsey) February 8, 2021

Welp we seen this before! Them refs tough! Wow

— Darius Leonard (@dsleon45) February 8, 2021

These are all penalties. The thing is they haven’t been called on anyone the whole playoffs.

— Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) February 8, 2021

The first half would have looked much different if not for the flags. If the Chiefs don’t come back to win, expect them to be a major talking point after the game.

It’s not the first time the Buccaneers have benefitted from a controversial pass interference call in these playoffs.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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