In a post-Super Bowl LIX meltdown, DeAndre Hopkins raised eyebrows—and penalties—questioning the officiating after the Chiefs' dismal 40-22 loss to the Eagles, despite having a lower total penalty count.

Following the game, Hopkins took aim at the referees, calling out the numerous 'touchy calls' that seemingly contributed to the Chiefs’ downfall, despite being on the weaker end of the penalty stick. With more penalty yards yet fewer infractions than their opponents, he humorously inquired whether reporters would dare to scrutinize the officiating this time, reflecting a glimmer of hope that someone might finally hold a whistle to account while his own performance—two catches for 18 yards—lingered like a bad taste after that dropped pass.

The irony wasn't lost on Hopkins, considering he was speaking less than 24 hours after the Chiefs had a penalty tally resembling a polite wave, while the Eagles had accrued enough yards to make a respectable high school football team blush. With 75 penalty yards against the Chiefs and only 59 against Philadelphia, one could almost imagine the officiating crew having a favorite among the teams. It's a delicate dance, really; after all, it's hard to win a game when the officials seem to be practicing their interpretations of 'foul' as an abstract concept.

In his first year with the Kansas City Chiefs, Hopkins has already accumulated a wealth of observations, particularly in the realm of officiating. His quizzical reflections on the subject reveal a man who's certainly been paying attention, perhaps more than the referees have been to the actual game being played. Given that he's entered the fray with a half-baked sense of what to expect from the men in stripes, it's no wonder he felt compelled to note the dissonance in performance and penalty application on the field.

To further paint the picture of yesterday's offensive struggle, one can only point to the Chiefs' dismal first-half performance, where they managed to scrape together a meager 23 yards. Not exactly a winning strategy, and certainly one that didn't require a referee to implement. But once again, Hopkins found himself in a situation where making solid receptions felt almost futile, especially juxtaposed to the dramatic play that could have swung momentum in the Chiefs' favor—a dropped pass that felt as heavy as the loss itself. It was almost as if the football was auditioning for a different role in the universe, and Hopkins forgot his lines.

As the game wore on and the scoreboard began to taunt the Chiefs with a predestined finality, the question echoed at the press conference: will anyone dare to ask about the zebras in the future? Perhaps the Chiefs will reassess their strategy heading into next season and find a way to align their performance with officiating that might be just as touchy but maybe—just maybe—more favorably inclined. After all, what's a few extra yards when you can convert questions of accountability into actual touchdowns?

After the game, while many pundits were searching for the root cause of the loss, it appears that the officiating was a significant topic of discussion. DeAndre Hopkins, in his first year with the Chiefs, criticized the officiating, mentioning that there were many 'touchy calls'. With reporters at the ready, he rhetorically asked them if they were going to report on the referees now, highlighting his awareness of previous media discussions about officiating.