Eagles’ Darius Slay on refs’ crucial non-call: ‘Nobody perfect’

NFL fans, players and coaches alike are usually quick to jump on officials when they miss a call or throw a penalty flag for a foul that wasn’t committed.

Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay had a different tune on Monday.

Slay was involved in a controversial play against the Buffalo Bills during their Sunday night overtime win. He and Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs got tangled up on a pass play. It appeared Slay was holding Diggs’ jersey as he was trying to break free but there was no penalty called.

One NFL observer wrote on X that the Bills were “robbed” but Slay had a tempered approach.

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“Refs miss calls all the time.. nobody perfect,” Slay wrote. “But holding an grabbing goes on every play. If they would’ve called it I wouldn’t be mad at all!”

Head official Shawn Hochuli was asked about the Slay-Diggs play after the game.

“So on that play from the view and the angle of the official, we just didn’t feel that it significantly hindered the receiver’s ability to catch the ball,” Hochuli said, via Syracuse.com.

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The Eagles won the game 37-34 as the referees faced scrutiny over penalties all game long, including one they didn’t call on Haason Reddick for his tackle on Josh Allen. Instead, Allen was penalized for intentional grounding because his toss didn’t reach the line of scrimmage.

“The hit on Josh Allen, we felt that the force was from the front of the collar and what pulled him down was not from the back,” Hochuli said. “So, that’s pretty much it. We felt that he was pulled down from the front of the jersey and collar.”

In the meantime, the Eagles improved to 10-1 on the season and the Bills fell to 6-6.