Joe Burrow led the Cincinnati Bengals to a 27-20 win against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football. For the first time this season, the Bengals got lucky as they recovered their blocked punt late in the game, setting up a 40-yard touchdown from Ja’Marr Chase.
This helped Cincinnati avoid its fifth loss in the last six games. However, a big mistake from the NFL‘s officials could have easily cost them this game. The Bengals had to initially punt the ball after the refs missed a blatant face-mask on Joe Burrow from Marist Liufau in a play in which the Bengals quarterback got sacked.
Fans Call Out Refs for Costing Joe Burrow and the Bengals
The fans on social media were quite angry after the refs missed another call that could have easily changed the outcome of the game. Fortunately for the Bengals, they ended up winning the game, but such calls should never be missed in the NFL.
Here’s how the fans reacted to the missed facemask call:
Insane. No superstar QB gets less calls than Joe Burrow. It’s nuts. https://t.co/CuTVkS5zrE
— Finn McCool (@FinnMcCoolOH) December 10, 2024
“This is getting beyond out of hand @NFL @NFLOfficiating, y’all somehow can go to another source randomly, but miss s**t like this?” said one fan.
Another fan added, “Tell me why certain calls are flipped because ‘NY reviewed it’ but these blatant missed can’t be reviewed ?!!”
All those fouls should be reviewable. Smh
— pawellwitt (@pawellwitt) December 10, 2024
“That was a terrible miss there. Aren’t they supposed to be watching what happens with the quarterback?” wrote a fan.
“They have no accountability. If this crew wasn’t allowed to work next week (pay withheld), they’d start calling games correctly,” added one fan.
The expedited review booth needs to be able to call these
These are binary calls not judgment calls so review should be eligible @NFL https://t.co/CCsM8CBfLa— John Wetherby (@jdubbs99) December 10, 2024
Throughout the season, we have heard about the referees favoring the Kansas City Chiefs, but that is not the case, as the officiating around the league has not been at the level that it should be. It has on occasion resulted in a team losing the game, which causes fans to get riled up.
In Week 14, there was a huge uproar after Josh Allen faced no consequences for what looked like a flop to get a call in his favor. These mistakes will continue to happen unless the league decides to make a change that would make all the calls reviewable either by a challenge from the coaches or directly by the replay center in New York.
Bengals’ Defense Finally Helped Its Star Quarterback
Not only did the Bengals get lucky with the blocked punt but their defense also showed up, helping their quarterback, who has played MVP-caliber football.
Burrow was 33-of-44 for 369 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception with a passer rating of 112.8. On any other day, the interception thrown by Burrow could have easily tilted the game in the opposition’s favor, but the Bengals’ defense kept the team in the game.
The 28-year-old quarterback ultimately led a game-winning touchdown drive, connecting with Ja’Marr Chase, who also had a monster game. The former LSU star finished with 177 yards and two touchdowns on 14 receptions.
Another Bengals player who has been consistent throughout the season has been Trey Hendrickson. He also showed up at the biggest moment and sacked Cooper Rush on the Cowboys’ final drive of the game, helping Cincinnati to get its fifth win of the season.
With this win against the Cowboys, the Bengals stay alive in the race to the playoffs, but they are still three games back of the last Wild Card spot (Denver Broncos, 8-5) in the AFC and will need a lot of luck to play in the postseason this year.