Another incorrect roughing the passer penalty has impacted a game in the NFL.
After the two-minute warning in the second quarter during a promising Tennessee Titans drive, Ryan Tannehill looked left and threw an interception in the end zone to Saints defensive back Marcus Williams. The turnover would have ended any opportunity for the Titans to score late in the first half of a 6-6 game.
But referee Jerome Boger threw a flag on Saints linebacker Kaden Elliss for roughing the passer after a hit on Tannehill, citing a blow to the head.
The problem? There wasn’t a blow to the head, and the hit came as Tannehill let go of the pass. The penalty call was incorrect.
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CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore, a former longtime NFL referee, said on the game broadcast that he would have wanted the umpire, in the backfield with Boger and with a different vantage point, to help Boger correct the call. Saints coach Sean Payton, asking to conversate with the officiating crew during a timeout after the call, was not amused.
The Titans would eventually score on a Tannehill 1-yard run to take a 13-6 lead.
This call comes five days after a Monday Night Football game filled with officiating mistakes in a tight game between the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Three separate incidents impacted scoring drives, including a taunting penalty on Bears linebacker Cassius Marsh for “posturing” toward the Steelers bench in the fourth quarter. Earlier in the second half, the Bears had a touchdown wiped off the board for an illegal block in which the Bears player missed contacting a Steelers defender. Pittsburgh would win the game 29-27.
