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Marshall Faulk, a Super Bowl champion running back who starred with the St. Louis Rams during his NFL career, had a sharp warning for the officials ahead of his former team’s playoff game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Faulk told TMZ Sports in an interview published Sunday that he’s rooting for Los Angeles in the win, but loves the competitiveness of playoff football in general.
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Tennessee Titans defensive end Jevon Kearse (90) chases St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk (28) during a game at Adelpha Coliseum in Nashville on October 31, 1999. (Freeman Ramsey/The Tennessean/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
However, he said the referees must let the players play.
“Here’s what I’m hoping for — I’m hoping the refs stay their a– out of the game,” Faulk said. “We don’t need to see the referees on TV so much. They have been too visible in these games. They throw too many flags.
“I know they want to see each other. But they just need to stay out of the games and allow football to be played on the pitch.”
Faulk’s comments hit the Internet a day after controversy erupted in the Denver Broncos’ overtime divisional-round victory over the Buffalo Bills.
A key interception call that went in favor of the Broncos in overtime sparked consternation.
At first, it looked like simultaneous possession, which would have led to the Bills holding the ball. But when Bills receiver Brandin Cooks went to the ground with the pigskin, the ball rolled into a position where Broncos defensive back Ja’Quan McMillian was able to snag it away for an interception as Cooks lay on his back.
Colorado Buffaloes running backs coach Marshall Faulk before the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Folsom Field on Aug. 29, 2025. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)
BILLS HEAD COACH SEAN MCDERMOTT CHIDES OFFICIAL FOR CONTROVERSIAL INTERCEPTION CALL: ‘NOT CLOSE YET’
The instant replay review showed that Cooks was down on the ground with the ball, which would typically end the play and give the Bills a completion. But enough of the ball was already in McMillian’s arms when Cooks hit the ground that the officials didn’t reverse the call after looking at it.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott wanted the officials to take a long look at the play, so he called a timeout to do so — teams can’t challenge in overtime.
“It would seem logical to me … that the manager would go and take a look at it, just to make sure everybody from here that’s in the stadium and there is on the same page. It’s too big a play, in my estimation, and a play that potentially decided the game to not even slow it down,” McDermott said.
“It’s hard for me to understand why it was ruled the way it was ruled. If it’s ruled that way, why wasn’t it slowed just to make sure we got this right? That would have made a lot of sense to me, to make sure we got this thing right. Because it’s a crucial play in the game. We have the ball at the 20, so I can just kick a field goal there.”
McDermott had more words for the Buffalo News from the team plane.
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) looks to pass in the third quarter of an NFC Wild Card Round game at Bank of America Stadium on Jan. 10, 2026. (Bob Donnan/Imagn Images)
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The winner of Bears-Rams on Sunday night will play the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game.
