Cardinals coach Bruce Arians didn’t blame the officiating after Sunday’s loss to the Eagles, but today he acknowledged that he wants answers from the league office about some key calls that hurt his team.
Arians said today that there “were obviously very many problems” with the officiating. He added that he brought about 15 calls to the attention of the officials and expects straight answers from NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino.
“There is a protocol to follow. We followed the protocol. Dean Blandino does a great job being honest on the calls,” Arians said.
The NFL being honest about bad calls after the fact is nice, but nothing can take back the fact that the Cardinals think they got screwed. A holding call on safety Tyrann Mathieu that negated Patrick Peterson’s interception, a holding call on linebacker Matt Shaughnessy that gave the Eagles a key first down and a failure to call pass interference on a fourth down pass by the Cardinals were all crucial.
The loss to the Eagles was a huge blow to the Cardinals’ playoff hopes, and it’s legitimate to say questionable officiating was a key factor in that loss. You can hardly blame Arians for wanting answers.