Did the officials miss an errant whistle on a Bengals TD? Why the play should have been blown dead.

Your instincts were correct if you felt like NFL officials were throwing more flags in 2021. Penalties ticked up to 13.88 per game during the regular season, a bit higher than in the 2020 season (13.14) but still way below where they were in 2019 (16.17) and 2018 (15.87).That’s the longer-term context as you watch this year’s postseason games. It would be a surprise if we saw many penalty-filled games, and with any luck we’ll spend the next four weeks talking about the performance of players and coaches, and not about the fouls that were called (or uncalled) against them.But there are many rules-based twists and turns to consider beyond flags. In the 2020 AFC Championship Game, for instance, then NFL senior vice president Al Riveron allowed a review for a non-reviewable play. Ultimately, he reversed a call that should not have been looked at in the game that decided who would represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.We’ll have all of your officiating needs covered in this post, which will be updated as needed with rule explanations, important context and other officiating trends. Come along for the ride. (The most recent plays are at the top.)Was this really roughing the passer?Raiders-Bengals wild-card game, 1:51 remaining in the fourth quarterWhat happened: Bengals defensive end Khalid Kareem made contact with Raiders quarterback Derek Carr after Carr released a 15-yard pass to running back Josh Jacobs.How it was resolved: Referee Jerome Boger threw a flag for roughing the passer. The additional 15 yards gave the Raiders a 30-yard gain in total, putting the ball at the Bengals’ 35-yard line as the Raiders were driving for what could have been the game-tying (or winning) scores.Analysis: The NFL has moved in dramatic ways over the years to protect quarterbacks, creating rules that prohibit them from being hit forcibly in the head or neck area, as well as below the knee, when they are in the pocket or otherwise in a defenseless posture.1 RelatedBoger did not specify why the flag was thrown, but at best, it appeared Kareem’s right shoulder or arm grazed Carr’s helmet. It would be up to Boger at that point to determine whether that contact was “forcible.” He is not tasked with taking into account the game situation, but you would like to see any call be obvious to the viewer — whether it is the fourth quarter of a playoff game or the first quarter in Week 1.Carr did what he should have done; he made his case to Boger by snapping his head back and pointing to his helmet. It is always possible that another angle would show more forcible contact, but from what we could see on the NBC replay, it was not.Errant whistle on Cincy touchdownRaiders-Bengals wild-card game, 1:51 remaining in second quarterWhat happened: Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow scrambled toward the right sideline on a third-down play from the Raiders’ 10-yard line. With the ball in the air, a whistle could clearly be heard on the NBC broadcast. Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd caught the pass for a touchdown.How it was resolved: After a lengthy discussion among officials, led by referee Jerome Boger, the play was rule a touchdown.Analysis: Unless the whistle came from the crowd or someone other than one of the seven officials on the field, this should not have been a touchdown. There are two options here. Either the whistle was intended to rule Burrow out of bounds, or it was an inadvertent whistle. In either case, NFL rules require the play to be end at the time of the whistle.NFL rule 7, Section 2, Article 1(m) states: “[W]hen an official sounds the whistle erroneously while the ball is still in play, the ball becomes dead immediately.” In this case, the rule goes on to state: “If the ball is in player possession, the team in possession may elect to put the ball in play where it has been declared dead or to replay the down.”So the touchdown should not have counted, and the play should have been re-played. It is not reviewable. Players often stop playing when they hear a whistle, and it’s inherently unfair to allow post-whistle action to count.A similar play occurred during a 2015 game between the Patriots and Bills. In that instance, referee Gene Steratore correctly halted the play, even as Patriots receiver Danny Amendola was running upfield, but erred in placing the ball at the spot where Amendola was when the whistle blew.Burrow stayed in bounds to make it 20-6 😱(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/rWdbAbXmqs— ESPN (@espn) January 15, 2022
Raiders start drive at 2-yard line after returner steps out of boundsRaiders-Bengals wild-card game, 1:18 remaining in first quarterWhat happened: Raiders kickoff returner Peyton Barber grabbed the bouncing ball near the sideline and stepped out of bounds at the 2-yard line.How it was resolved: Barber was ruled down at the 2, putting the Raiders in terrible field position for their third possession of the game.Analysis: Barber was trying to capitalize on a little-known NFL rule in an effort to get the ball marked at the 40-yard line. What he wanted to do was step out of bounds and then touch the ball. When a ball touches a player after he has established himself out of bounds, the ball is ruled out of bounds at that point. Had Barber stepped out first, the Bengals would have been penalized for a kickoff out of bounds, and by rule, referee Jerome Boger would have spotted the ball the 40. But because Barber grabbed the ball before that, he was ruled to have run out of bounds with possession of the ball.Multiple teams have tried to leverage that rule in recent years by deliberately stepping out of bounds and then reaching for the ball, most notably the Green Bay Packers’ Randall Cobb in 2012.