It looks like the Las Vegas Raiders may need to beat both the Cincinnati Bengals and the officials today if they want to advance to the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
During the first half of today’s game, with the Raiders trailing 13-6, a controversial play that could end up playing a huge factor unfolded on the field at Paul Brown Stadium. With Cincy facing a 3rd & 4 from the Raiders’ 10-yard line, Joe Burrow scrambled out of the pocket and was headed for the sideline before finding wide receiver Tyler Boyd in the back of the end zone for a touchdown…But wait!
The players, coaches, and everyone watching at home had heard a whistle blow just as Burrow was releasing the pass. Apparently the official along the sideline thought Burrow had stepped out of bounds prior to throwing the football (he did not). The whistle could be heard loud and clear well before Boyd receives the pass in the back of the end zone. It’s very likely that it affected some of the Raiders defensive backs on the play.
Despite all of that, the refs still got together and decided to award the touchdown to Cincinnati, which was the wrong call, according to NFL rules expert Terry McAulay. Check it out:
As former official Terry McAulay pointed out, the play should not have been ruled a touchdown, as the whistle came when the ball was still in the air. The whistle blew because Burrow was ruled out of bounds, and once he was ruled out of bounds, that should have been the end of the play. They’re not even allowed to review it to see if he stayed in.
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If they did get together after the play and rule that the whistle was erroneous, then they have the option to replay the down because the ball was a “loose ball” when the whistles were blown. They cannot award the touchdown, which is what they did anyway.
It’s just another instance this season where the refs got it wrong. And it cost the Raiders big time.
