NFL officiating has become so bad some fans think games are fixed.
That was the serious charge leveled by Shannon Sharpe on FS1's "Undisputed" Tuesday after poor officiating marred the Raiders' 27-20 win Monday night against the Texans in Mexico City.
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The Pro Football Hall of Famer and three-time Super Bowl champion pointed to the controversial call in which a line judge blew dead a play in which the Texans' DeAndre Hopkins could have scored a 60-yard touchdown reception from Brock Osweiler
Instead, the official called Hopkins out of bounds. The Texans had to settle for a field goal on their opening drive on the "Monday Night Football" game telecast by ESPN.
"I'm telling you, Skip, they don't think the games are on the up and up," Sharpe told Skip Bayless and Joy Taylor. "That what fans are starting to think."
If he were a Texans fan, coach or player, Sharpe said he'd have a hard time swallowing a call that seemingly cost them a touchdown on their opening drive.
STEELE: Hopkins was in-bounds, and so are demands for correct calls
If the line judge hadn't blown the play dead, it probably would have been reviewed anyway, Sharpe said. Then the replay officials could have used all these fancy replay cameras the TV networks brag about.
"The official who blew that whistle? That's unacceptable," Sharpe declared.
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Bayless countered that many NFL owners, including Jerry Jones of the Cowboys, want human error kept in the game because it sparks discussion, intrigue and controversy.
“I don't think they mind that somebody wonders about, 'Is this rigged? Is this fixed?' Because people have wondered that, trust me, for 50 years about this league," Bayless said.
Maybe, maybe not.
Sharpe wondered whether it's healthy for the NFL to tacitly accept lousy officiating when TV ratings are down double-digits for broadcast partners ESPN, Fox, NBC and CBS this season.
"When them eyeballs stop going to television, it will get their attention, I guarantee you," Sharpe said.
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The Raiders appeared to be the beneficiary of several blown calls by the refs that went against the Texans. Monday's night's game sparked renewed calls by NFL analysts on ESPN and FS1 for the league to hire full-time, rather than part-time, officials.
During an interview this season with Sporting News, Fox Sports' highly respected rules analyst Mike Pereira called for the league to open its wallet and make the 17 refs who oversee game crews full-time employees.
Officials fixing games is every sports league's worst nightmare.
Remember the 2007 NBA betting scandal, when the league was horrified to discover that crooked ref Tim Donaghy bet on games he officiated?
Pro Boxing and Horse Racing tumbled from their former perch at the top of American sports because of corruption and organized crime.
It surprised me to hear Sharpe, who works for NFL broadcast partner Fox Sports, even bring up the subject of rigged games.
It's a very touchy subject.
If it's ever proved, ala Donaghy, that NFL refs are fixing games, the American sports industry would go up, and I mean up, in smoke.
