It was a costly penalty and one that hurt the San Francisco 49ers at a critical moment during Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs. Was it a game-changer? Perhaps.
The officials penalized tight end George Kittle toward the end of the first half, negating a 42-yard gain that could have led to a 13-10 49ers lead — at least — going into halftime. But Kittle was called for offensive pass interference after he used his arm the create a little separation between himself and the defender before making a spectacular deep catch.
The receiver extends his arm and creates separation while the ball is in the air, therefore it is offensive pass interference. – AL#SBLIV pic.twitter.com/hxAvggDqhS
— NFL Officiating (@NFLOfficiating) February 3, 2020
"I've gotta live with it. It's what it is," Kittle told reporters after the game. "You know, the ref makes the call, you live with it."
Head coach Kyle Shanahan clearly was not happy the penalty was called, and his frustrations showed from the sideline.
"I don't get to see it very good from the sideline, but I was definitely surprised of it (considering) the way they were letting the whole game go," Shanahan said during his post-game presser.
Someone else who was not happy about the call is Terrell Owens. The Hall of Fame wide receiver made his opinion clear on Monday during his weekly interview on 95.7 The Game.
"I question that call because that call was the same situation -- you look at the Vikings and the Saints game," Owens said on the "Joe, Lo and Dibs" show, "when Kyle Rudolph caught the touchdown in the end zone. It's a similar situation where he basically pressed out to gain an advantage to catch the ball. There was no difference in what Kittle did, and that play there."
"The NFL should be ashamed of themselves. There's no consistency in those calls. And so, again, those are two pivotal plays that I saw [that were] momentum changers throughout the course of the game."
The other pivotal play that Owens referred to during the interview was quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo's missed opportunity to hit wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders deep in the fourth quarter for what would have likely been a touchdown reception.
"Jimmy G just missed it. He wasn't even close," Owens said of that play.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Owens below.
