Officials missed multiple Ravens penalties on controversial final Bengals play, ex-NFL ref reveals
- The Bengals fell to 4-6 after a failed two-point attempt late in the game
The Ravens defeated the Bengals in dramatic fashion on Thursday night, but an ex-NFL referee accused officials of missing two calls on Cincinnati’s final offensive play.
After a Ja’Marr Chase touchdown catch with 38 seconds left brought the Bengals within one point of their opponents, the visitors opted to go for two — but a do-or-die pass attempt to tight end Tanner Hudson ended up being incomplete.
However, upon seeing a replay of the series, Amazon Prime Video rules analyst Terry McAulay indicated that the Bengals should have been given another chance to win the game.
‘It was clearly a defensive position… and that looks like violence to the head of [Burrow]’ he said.
On the play, the Ravens’ Roquan Smith made contact with Burrow’s facemask, while the quarterback’s intended target, Hudson, was wrapped up by Ar’Darius Washington before the ball reached him.
Joe Burrow was hit in the face mask during the deciding play of the game on Thursday
Tight end Tanner Hudson was also held by Ar’Darius Washington with the ball still in the air
Prime Video’s Al Michaels shared McAulay’s thoughts on the piece.
‘Too many games end this way. They just do that,” Michaels said.
“You miss calls, that whole thing, it’s so frustrating for fans.”
Ultimately, the Bengals lost 35-34 on a failed onside kick, and fans were also upset about the pair of no-calls.
“The NFL is too big to have this level of incompetence,” said someone on X.
Burrow racked up 428 passing yards and four touchdowns, but the Bengals still lost
“It’s the old, stupid logic of referees not wanting to decide the game, but by not calling the penalties that actually happened they decided the game,” a second suggested.
“I love the Ravens but that hit to Burrow’s head was obvious,” a third added.
The loss will be painful for the now 4-6 Bengals, who led 21-7 in the second half and featured huge offensive performances from Burrow (428 passing yards, four touchdowns) and Ja’Marr Chase (264 receiving yards, three touchdowns).