Joe Burrow Breaks Twitter Silence to Defend NFL Officials
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow rarely posts on Twitter. He sent out just six tweets in 2022. The following year, he posted only once, with a message that read, "Show me the aliens!!" His activity picked up slightly in 2024 with five tweets. In 2025, he shared a single repost about the Netflix series Quarterback Season 2.
Now, in 2026, Burrow has returned to the platform formerly known as Twitter. He is using his voice to share a strong opinion about NFL game officials.
Burrow's Unexpected Support for the Refs
On January 19, the 29-year-old star quarterback tweeted his support for NFL referees. He expressed surprise at the public's reaction to recent calls.
"The amount of ppl that don’t understand what a catch is in the rule book flabbergasts me," Burrow wrote. "And it’s not the officials. The two plays yesterday were not difficult calls, and they got them both right."
Burrow stated clearly that the officials' decisions followed the NFL rule book perfectly. He said anyone who argues otherwise genuinely surprises him.
Quarterback vs. Quarterback: The Controversial Plays
This situation pits quarterback against quarterback, which is a rare public disagreement. The controversy centers on two specific plays from recent games.
First, during a game between the Buffalo Bills and the Denver Broncos, Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw a deep pass to wide receiver Brandin Cooks. Denver Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian managed to wrestle the ball away from Cooks as they fell to the ground.
NFL officials ruled the play an interception. They determined McMillian had gained possession of the ball while Cooks was still on the turf. This call proved crucial. Moments later, Denver kicked a game-winning field goal, dashing Allen's Super Bowl hopes for the season.
The very next day, a nearly identical play occurred in the game between the Chicago Bears and the Los Angeles Rams. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford targeted wide receiver Davante Adams. Bears defensive back Tyrique Stevenson fought for the ball and took it away from Adams.
In this instance, however, the officials made the opposite call. They ruled it a catch by Adams, not an interception by Stevenson. This created two seemingly contradictory rulings from one weekend.
Burrow's Firm Stance and the Online Reaction
These two stories sparked debate among fans online. While many cybercitizens disagreed with the officials, two-time Pro Bowler Joe Burrow quickly voiced his support.
He spoke firmly in favor of the referees. Burrow explained his view that both calls were correct according to the rulebook. The interception call in the Bills-Broncos game was right. Similarly, the catch call in the Bears-Rams game was also right.
NFL aggregator Dov Kleiman noticed Burrow's public support for the officials. He quickly questioned the quarterback's motives with a pointed tweet: "Trying to get the Mahomes whistle?"
Kleiman was referring to Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes. Many fans believe Mahomes receives favorable treatment from referees during games. A user replied to Kleiman, defending Burrow by saying, "He [Joe Burrow] dont cry to the refs everytime he gets touched."
The online chatter took a humorous turn. An X user named "greg" commemorated Kleiman's comment by using the platform's AI tool, Grok. Greg shared a photo of Burrow in his Bengals uniform and asked Grok to put him in the uniform of the team he would play for next season.
The result was instant and amusing. Burrow's familiar Bengals gear was digitally transformed into the red and gold of Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs.
