Controversy the clouds Super Wild Card Weekend playoff game
UDPATE: The NFL has made a statement on the play:
Pool report on the inadvertent whistle pic.twitter.com/Jlnm5ozgR0
— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonATH) January 16, 2022
Controversy has loomed over yet another Raiders’ playoff game.
In the second quarter of the Las Vegas Raiders–Cincinnati Bengals’ Super Wild Card Weekend game on Saturday afternoon, the Bengals took a 20-6 lead in the second quarter on a short touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Burrow to wide receiver Tyler Boyd.
Burrow was nearly out of bounds as he threw the ball and an official’s whistle could be heard just before Boyd caught the ball. After the play, several Las Vegas defenders appeared to be confused.
THE WHISTLE BLEW. SHOULDN’T HAVE COUNTED pic.twitter.com/zpFSSXPhDB
— PFF Las Vegas Raiders (@PFF_Raiders) January 15, 2022
The blown whistle was clearly a mistake, but by rule, the play should have been called dead and the third down should have been played over. It was not.
The play was discussed on the NBC broadcast and their crew summarized that the touchdown call was a mistake, even though it may have not affected the play. The “erroneous whistle” was also a major topic on the Internet.
The NFL isn’t commenting on the #Bengals‘ controversial touchdown, deferring to NBC’s rules expert Terry McAulay, who noted the call can’t be fixed in replay.
Said McAulay: “They can’t have a touchdown on that play, by rule.”
A huge mistake by Jerome Boger’s crew.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 15, 2022
The mistake by referee Jerome Boger and his crew will likely face greater scrutiny for the miscue after the game.
“when an official sounds the whistle erroneously while the ball is still in play, the ball becomes dead immediately” pic.twitter.com/bN2VeH1r7m
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) January 15, 2022