Poor officiating was a main storyline in Week 7 of the NFL. What were some of the most controversial calls made on Sunday?
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Several Controversial Calls Made in Week 7
The first instance of bad officiating that may come to mind is a defensive pass interference call in the Colts vs. Browns game. The Colts were up 38-33 with 47 seconds left in the game. A sack-fumble in the Colts’ favor was called back by an illegal contact penalty on cornerback Darrell Baker.
On the next play, defensive pass interference was called on Baker on what was an uncatchable ball. Both calls were definitely questionable and changed the outcome of what was a very close and exciting game that featured eight lead changes. The pass interference moved the ball from second-and-goal at the 8-yard line to first-and-goal from the 1-yard line.
Browns running back Kareem Hunt then scored with 19 seconds left to give Cleveland the 39–38 win.
The refs called pass interference on the #Colts here, giving the #Browns another set of downs.
Was the ball uncatchable? Should this have been called? 🤔#ForTheShoe | #DawgPound
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) October 22, 2023
Another questionable call came at the end of the Steelers and Rams game. The Steelers were ahead 24-17 with 2:24 remaining in the game. In a 4th-and-1 situation, Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett ran a sneak and appeared to come up short, but the refs awarded him the first down to finish the game.
MORE: NFL Week 7 Playoff Picture
The Rams were unable to challenge the call as they had no timeouts. While the Steelers were likely to take home the win regardless, the call had fans at home scratching their heads as it seemed apparent that he did not reach the first down.
The refs ruled this a first down in the closing minutes of the #Steelers victory over the #Rams.
Thoughts? 🤔#RamsHouse | #HereWeGo
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) October 22, 2023
A couple of questionable calls were made in the Dolphins and Eagles game Sunday night. To start, a roughing the passer call was made in the second quarter on Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. Several fans made the argument that there just wasn’t enough to call it roughing the passer.
Roughing the passer. Yes or no?pic.twitter.com/gsVqhAXiip
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) October 23, 2023
Also in the Dolphins and Eagles game, a blatant facemask penalty went uncalled. It’s also worth noting that the Dolphins were called for 10 penalties, and the Eagles were called for zero.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick had words to say about officiating after the Patriots and the Bills were flagged a combined 17 times on Sunday afternoon.
“You’d have to ask (referee) Clete about some of those, throwing flags, picking them up, throwing them late, whatever; it was kind of an unusual game the way some of the penalties were called all the way around,” Belichick said.
“The obvious question is, if it gets picked up, why’d you throw it in the first place? I don’t know. You’d have to ask them that.”
While it’s not unusual for an official to make a mistake here and there, Week 7 seemed littered with questionable or flat-out wrong calls by officials.