‘Do referees drop footballs?’ Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman says claims the NFL is rigged are ‘a bunch of baloney’

Three-time Super Bowl champion Julian Edelman said players can’t blame referees for their own mistakes on the gridiron.

Edelman made appearances on a series of shows this week and was asked almost unanimously to compare his experience with the New England Patriots and Tom Brady with the treatment Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are getting.

The internet has been burning with claims of rigged games, faulty calls, and crooked referees that have helped the Chiefs reach their third straight Super Bowl.

On “The Jim Rome Show,” Edelman was asked if the claims and complaints reminded him of criticism the Patriots received about Brady receiving favoritism from referees.

“What’s your reaction, Julian, to the way people are absolutely losing their minds on social media?” Rome asked.

“I got a question for you. Do referees drop footballs?” Edelman retorted. “Do referees go for fourth downs over and over with the same play and get stuffed? Do they throw interceptions?”

As he did on multiple programs, Edelman revealed that every team has a “scouting report on each one, all these referees, and you know who’s a tight crew, who’s not a tight crew.”

Edelman told Rome, “I think all the people that keep on coming out saying it’s the referees, if you got a problem with it, go out and beat them.”

‘The refs aren’t involved in when you throw interceptions.’

On the “Rich Eisen Show,” Edelman said that “when you’re on top, everyone wants to try to bring you down.”

The former wide receiver went on to say the claim that referees are rigging the game is “a bunch of baloney” and again blamed poor execution for the reason Kansas City’s opponents are choking.

Edelman quoted his legendary coach in New England, Bill Belichick, several times throughout interviews and said, “Do business as business as being done” with the referees.

“The refs aren’t involved in when you throw interceptions, when you fumble the ball, when you jump offsides, when you don’t convert third down or fourth down, or third and fourth down for short, four times. They can’t control that,” he continued.

Edelman was likely referring to the Buffalo Bills’ AFC championship loss to the Chiefs, in which they were stopped several times when executing some of their signature plays.

The Super Bowl MVP later chalked up Mahomes’ success to playing “mistake-free football” time and time again. On top of that, Edelman claimed a lot of teams are playing risky and sloppy football, resulting in penalties, turnovers, and abandoning their game plan.

“That ain’t [the refs]. That’s you,” he said.

The Chiefs will look to win their third straight Super Bowl on February 9 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles’ most recent Super Bowl win came at Super Bowl LII in 2018, a 41-33 win over the Patriots.

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