We don’t often go in for NFL referee conspiracy theories in these parts, but there is already some consternation coming from many corners of Dallas Cowboys Nation over a bit of Cowboys news that came in this week.
That news: the lead referee for the critical Sunday Night Football game against the Eagles is John Hussey, who is notable for a number of reasons, but one in particular in this case: Turns out, the Eagles are 7-0 when Hussey’s crew is on the case.
That is according to the Twitter/X account NFL Ref Stats, which posted some numbers about the Hussey crew this week:
“HOME division teams like Cowboys are 33-14-2 ATS (70%) w’ John Hussey since 2016 , best home record for any ref in that span- BUT the Eagles are a perfect 7-0 SU & ATS with Hussey officiating.”
Of course, 70% over a large sample size like 49 games probably is more meaningful than the seven games Hussey has had involving the Eagles, which is still a pretty small sample size.
But did that stop the angst of foreseeing a spate of referee issues in Week 14? Of course not.
One of the stats that seemed to be bad Cowboys news in particular is the fact that, in the last two games that John Hussey has overseen involving the Eagles, there were 21 penalties called on opponents and six called on Philadelphia.
That set the stage for some pretty blunt evaluations, ranging from the subtle, “a questionable call or two,” to the more alarmist and age-old, “The fix is in!” Oh, and why not a reference to Scott Foster, the controversial NBA referee?
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