Getty NFL media was severely critical of the officiating during the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars matchup during Week 8.
The Pittsburgh Steelers faced the Jacksonville Jaguars during Week 8. But the way some members of NFL media reacted to the officiating from the game, one could have guessed the Steelers were playing against the officials, too.
In the final seconds of the first half, Steelers kicker Chris Boswell missed a 61-yard field goal. But a series of questionable calls led to the failed try, which was Boswell’s first miss of the 2023 season.
As a result, several members of the media criticized the officials from the game on social media.
Just to recap:
Hideously blown spot.
Incorrect 10-second runoff.
No call as KP driven into the ground and injured.
Phantom offside on field goal.
And that was in the last 30 seconds of the half.
“Alan Eck’s crew takes a FG off the board for the Steelers for ‘right guard lining up offsides.’ Replay showed no such thing,” Steelers.com writer Dale Lolley posted on X (formerly known as Twitter). “This crew is making a case for full-time NLF officials all by itself.”
Alan Eck’s crew takes a FG off the board for the Steelers for “right guard lining up offsides.” Replay showed no such thing. This crew is making a case for full-time NFL officials all by itself.
“Steelers aren’t helping themselves but they are getting absolutely robbed and jobbed by the officials,” reporter Mike Frazer wrote.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett Suffers Injury on Unpenalized Hit
Penalty vs. Not a Penalty 🤷♂️
The series of unfortunate calls for Pittsburgh started when quarterback Kenny Pickett scrambled to the sideline for what appeared to be a 10-yard gain. The sideline official, though, only gave Pickett a 9-yard gain, which was going to make the next play second down.
Upon further review, the officials deemed Pickett did gain the first down, but he fumbled the ball forward before stepping out of bounds. For that reason, the replay reversal led to a 10-second run-off.
The Steelers could have saved the 10 seconds but decided to keep their final timeout of the half. So, instead of 27 seconds left to try and get into better field-goal range, the Steelers only had 17 seconds.
On the next play, Jaguars defensive end Adam Gotsis tackled Pickett after he released the ball and drove him into the ground. The officials deemed the play legal.
But that appeared to be inconsistent with an earlier play when Steelers safety Keanu Neal received a roughing-the-passer penalty on a hit against Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Officials call Roughing on the Steelers in the first but can’t find their whistles on this?
“That roughing the passer call in Keanu Neal might be the worst call I’ve seen this year,” sports reporter David Todd wrote. “Hit the midsection with a textbook tackle. Head to the side. Ball just out of Lawrence’s hand. Joke.”
Unfortunately, Pickett never returned after sustaining the hit from Gotsis. Without Pickett, the Steelers failed to complete another fourth-quarter comeback in the 20-10 loss.
A penalty on Gotsis may not have changed the outcome of the game because Mitch Trubisky still would have played the entire second half. But obviously a 15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty would have moved the Steelers into better field-goal range.
Adding insult to injury, the Steelers lost their final timeout of the half. NFL rules require a team to be charged a timeout because of injuries inside the two-minute warning.
Mike Pereira Says Officials Shouldn’t Have Called Offsides on Field Goal Try
After that series of unfortunate events for Pittsburgh, Boswell made a 56-yard field-goal attempt with 6 seconds left. However, another penalty nullified the kick.
The officiating crew called guard Isaac Seumalo offsides, which turned Boswell’s try into a 61-yarder. After the miss, the Steelers trailed at halftime, 9-3.
During the second half of the game, former Vice President of NFL Officiating Mike Pereira joined the conversation on social media. He argued that officials shouldn’t have called the offsides penalty.
“In Pittsburgh, offside on the offensive guard? Officials are told to call that if a lineman has his head in the neutral zone on the short yardage push plays, not on a field goal attempts,” wrote Pereira.
In Pittsburgh, offside on the offensive guard? Officials are told to call that if a lineman has his head in the neutral zone on the short yardage push plays, not on field goal attempts.
Even if the league was emphasizing lineman offsides on field-goal tries, on the replay, it’s hard to see where Seumalo was lined up incorrectly.
The @NFLOfficiating female linejudge that made this call an offsides call negating a field goal, which has never happened ever before, is robin delorenzo from NJ an avid Jets fan and an absolute steelers hater #JAXvsPIT #nfl #refs #SteelersNation
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said he didn’t receive much of an explanation as to why the offsides penalty was called.
“I didn’t get a lot of dialogue, and I haven’t seen that called in 17 years of standing on the sidelines,” Tomlin told reporters in his postgame press conference. “Offsides on a guard on a field-goal protection.
“It didn’t matter what they said. I just had never seen that.”
From the CBS broadcast, it does look like Tomlin tried to engage in a dialogue with the official about the offsides penalty.
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NFL Media Reacts to Officiating During Steelers’ Loss to Jaguars