The Baltimore Ravens narrowly beat the Cincinnati Bengals last night and major figures in sports media are calling out NFL referees for deciding games via missed calls.
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During the matchup, several missed calls arguably decided Baltimore's 35-34 victory, including a late hit on Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow from Ravens defender Marlon Humphrey. Humphrey charged toward Burrow, taking several steps before delivering a heavy blow to the quarterback, who appeared to be in considerable pain. Burrow needed a moment to collect himself before heading off the field.
Though Humphrey and the Ravens may argue that he believed Burrow still had the ball, it's the kind of play that normally ends up with a penalty in the NFL, especially given the officiating crew for Thursday night's game, which had the highest flag count on average heading into the contest. Burrow himself later said he hadn't expected a call, saying, "You're not getting that call in that situation, for the most part. I've never really gotten [late hit] calls. You don't expect to get those."
Additionally, broadcasters pointed out that officials overlooked two penalties committed by the Ravens on the play. The first was a defensive holding penalty that restricted Mike Gesicki's movement. The second was a facemask penalty that occurred as Joe Burrow released his pass, marking the second time in the fourth quarter that Burrow's helmet was hit in a manner that should have drawn a flag.
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In a post to X/Twitter, Bayless lashed out on missed calls that have a disproportionately huge effect on the outcome of games, saying, "How can you let Baltimore, in Baltimore, get away with hitting Joe Burrow in the head twice on the last drive? One grab of the facemask. One smash to the facemask and you don't call that? That's just choking. That's just the refs afraid to reach for the yellow in the Ravens stadium because they're afraid of the Ravens fans."
Terry McAulay felt the Ravens got away with 2 penalties on the game-deciding 2-point attempt.
"It was clearly defensive holding...and that does look like forceable contact to the head of the quarterback," McAulay.
"Too many games end this way. They just do," Al Michaels. pic.twitter.com/Pl7WqjdWr6
Similarly, Amazon play-by-play announcer Al Michaels knocked missed calls that de facto decide games in a discussion with expert Terry McAulay, asserting that an attempt at a two-point conversion that could have forced the Ravens to drive for a potential game-winning field goal with 38 seconds remaining. He said, "too many games end this way. They just do. The missed calls. The whole thing. So frustrating to fans. So frustrating."
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