After a Sunday filled with erroneous officiating decisions that marred the NFL, one team owner may have snatched the spotlight from the questionable referee decisions, an NFL insider revealed Tuesday evening.
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NFL Insider Warns That Team Owner Could Face Punishment in Response to Officiating Errors
Per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, one unnamed owner could be in trouble for a rules violation involving the league’s handling of officiating calls.
“The NFL communicates with teams on a weekly basis about various calls. Team officials are prohibited from commenting publicly on those discussions. Now, a team owner has publicly said the league admitted to officiating mistakes. Stay tuned,” Pelissero posted on X.
While Pelissero didn’t mention the owner by name, many fans and analysts point to one owner’s social media post as the connection.
On Tuesday night, and nearly 20 minutes before Pelissero’s post, Indianapolis Colts team owner Jim Irsay posted some “urgent news” on his X account.
In the beginning, Irsay mentioned how his injured rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson had successful shoulder surgery in Los Angeles and said, “Anthony is doing well,” with no set timetable for a return.
MORE: Former Ref Gene Steratore Admits to Massive Mistake on Sunday
But the second part of Irsay’s news certainly grabbed some eyeballs.
“The NFL admits and understands that they did not make the correct calls at the end of Sunday’s Colts/Browns Game. I believe we need to institute Instant Replay for all calls, including Penalties, in the last two minutes of All Games,” Irsay posted.
URGENT NFL/COLTS NEWS:
🏈 #5 QB Anthony Richardson’s surgery today in LA was a success! It was a long procedure and his shoulder injury has been repaired. No new surprises were found during surgery – they just repaired what was expected. Anthony is doing well and thanks everyone…— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) October 25, 2023
While Irsay had his defenders in former Colts punter and current ESPN personality Pat McAfee and former NFL player turned analyst for The 33rd Team Ross Tucker, the league rule, per Pelissero, states that discussions about officiating with the NFL and team owners are meant to be confidential. All the more reason why Irsay could face league discipline.
What Were Some of the Questionable Calls Made in Week 7?
Beginning with how Irsay entered the picture, he watched his own player Darrell Baker Jr. get penalized in back-to-back sequences toward the end of the Colts’ 39-38 loss to the Browns.
On one play, Baker was flagged for illegal contact that nullified a strip sack from DeForest Buckner. Then, the cornerback helped force an incompletion but was called for pass interference. Yet, one counterargument was the ball shouldn’t have been considered catchable.
Was this ball uncatchable or should it have been pass interference on the Colts? pic.twitter.com/W1VpEuJOUf
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulli) October 22, 2023
The Colts and Browns weren’t the only game that came with questionable calls.
The early contest between the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers saw a combined 18 markers thrown. Some called the officiating job “awful” in that NFC South game.
Then, toward the end of the late afternoon contest between Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Rams, a controversial ball placement spot helped lead to the Steelers’ win when multiple angles showed Kenny Pickett appearing to be well short of the needed marker.
But to reiterate, any calls in question owners make are normally held behind closed doors and not released on social media or to the general public.