NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Before kickoff Sunday, DeAndre Hopkins will doubtlessly chat up referee Chad Martin and some of his crew.
I’ve always thought Hopkins’ frequent interactions with officials were intended to lay the groundwork for buying a little bit of benefit of the doubt.
Twelfth-year receivers with Hall of Fame resumes tend to do well on questionable calls in the NFL. But on the Titans’ last chance against the Jets, Hopkins was running across the end-zone breaking open on first-and-goal from the 10 but got tugged on pretty substantially by Sauce Gardner.
🚨NEWS: #Titans fans are extremely angry with the #NFL refs after #Jets CB Sauce Gardner was CLEARLY HOLDING DeAndre Hopkins on their final drive.
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) September 16, 2024
A flag should’ve been thrown, which would’ve allowed Tennessee to tie up the game.
(h/t @TheDolphinJoe)
pic.twitter.com/gPiY2b55jp
Hopkins got no benefit of the doubt there. Will Levis scrambled for 2 yards. There was no penalty. And the Titans took a timeout with 35 seconds left. Three plays later they had lost, 24-17.
“No matter what happened down there, I love that ref, but I know he wasn’t going to call anything on Sauce,” Hopkins said. “I mean he’s a great ref. But I’ve been in the league 12 years. I know.”
Referee relations are a significant part of the NFL. Buddying up to guys in stripes certainly shouldn’t influence subjective calls, but having a good relationship certainly can’t hurt.