Head official has poor explanation for awful Packers no-call
There has been some really bad officiating during NFL games, lately. The Green Bay Packers even encountered some against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9 when they were hit with not one, but two, "offsides" calls on crucial 4th downs that certainly played a role in the game's final outcome. Even if the Packers […]
There has been some really bad officiating during NFL games, lately. The Green Bay Packers even encountered some against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9 when they were hit with not one, but two, "offsides" calls on crucial 4th downs that certainly played a role in the game's final outcome. Even if the Packers won the game.
The team couldn't escape a bad no-call that potentially robbed them of points in Week 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. And when I say potentially, I mean there was a 99.9% chance they would've come away with at least three points if the referees made the correct decision.
Kenny Pickett tried to hit Jaylen Warren in the backfield, but threw a backward pass instead of a forward pass. The play was initially ruled incomplete, but replay clearly showed the ball was behind the line of scrimmage. This distinction was key because Warren couldn't control the ball and fumbled it away. The Packers recovered the ball and ran it into the end zone for a touchdown.
But, when reviewed, the refs upheld the decision:
Former ref Gene Steratore had a poor explanation for why the decision was made
The former head official said the following about the final ruling:
"You know sometimes these are really difficult in that stands world because of that angle. And when you're looking at it, to me, it was just not enough to overturn one way or the other… I just felt like it was a tough one."
It's clearly obvious Pickett's pass goes behind the line of scrimmage and it's unclear why the refs couldn't see that. Even if they stopped the Packers short of the touchdown, Anders Carlson would've had an easy, 33-yard field goal attempt even if the Packers didn't gain a single yard. Those three points would have obviously been huge in what was a 17-13 game, at the time.
And, to compound the situation: Sure, the Packers still got the stop. And even though their next drive started with good field position, it wasn't anything like they would've received had the right call been made.
It's always disappointing when games are decided by a whistle. Hopefully that doesn't turn out to be the case, here.
