Shawn Hochuli got his name in the headlines for all the wrong reasons on Thursday.
The veteran referee — who sports a famous last name — enjoyed himself a frantic assignment during the 49ers’ clash with the Giants, disrupting the affair with numerous blows of his whistles.
Suffice to say, Giants head coach Brian Daboll was not pleased. He engaged in a vicious war of words with the hulking official after New York defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux was penalized for a rather dubious pass interference call.
It made for enthralling television. But 12 penalties — six for each sides — certainly draws the ire of NFL fans the world over.
There were a number of curious calls made on Hochuli’s behalf. But few baffled the general populace as much as his failure to eject 49ers left tackle Trent Williams after he landed a two-piece combo on Giants defensive lineman A’Shawn Williams.
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“We ended up looking at the video we had available to us, and we just didn’t see anything that rose to the level of flagrant, which is the standard that we have to apply to disqualify the player,” NFL Senior Vice President of Officiating Walt Anderson told a pool reporter.
The hits didn’t stop for the Hochuli-led crew. For his next trick, the much-maligned zebra gave Leonard Williams a roughing the passer violation for…simply completing his form tackle of Niners QB Brock Purdy as he released the ball. It was another dark cloud in a day filled with them for the cadre of officials, who many felt took the game over entirely with their insistence on ticky-tacky fouls.
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Hochuli’s crew showed a special deference for offsetting penalties, repeatedly juxtaposing one team’s suspected indiscretion with another. It was a maddening sight, laundry flowing along the carpet like jaundiced leaves on a brisk autumn day. And yet, it was exceedingly the norm on Thursday, much to the detriment of the rhythm of the game.
Despite the questionable calls, Giants head coach Brian Daboll repeatedly made known in his press conference that no matter what the calls were, it wasn’t “an excuse” for the loss tonight.
“The refs call what they see, they have a tough job, no excuses,” Daboll said.
Thursday Night Football has increasingly became an albatross on the back of NFL fans’ necks. And Hochuli’s display under the bright lights certainly highlighted why, at least in the eyes of many.
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