The San Francisco 49ers suffered a loss Sunday afternoon to the Arizona Cardinals that was shaded by poor officiating. The 49ers did plenty to hurt their own cause, but they also had to deal with referees that were all over the place. The referees missed calls, made bad calls, and otherwise were awful, continuing a trend that has been a problem across the NFL for some time now.
ESPN analyst and Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young spoke about the issue before Week 12 Monday Night Football. Young focused on the idea of making the referees full-time employees, and making them and players active partners with the NFL.