One missed call led to the most controversial call of the day in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ 21-15 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 5.
ESPN’s Jeff Darlington highlighted this fact amid the outrage of the roughing the passer call against Atlanta defensive end Grady Jarrett when he sacked Bucs quarterback Tom Brady. That call helped the Bucs seal a close win, but referees’ missed pass interference call against the Falcons a play earlier made Jarrett’s misfortune possible, Darlington wrote.
Brady threw a deep ball to wide receiver Scotty Miller, and Falcons defensive back Dee Alford collided into Miller, pushing him out of bounds. Darlington called it “a blatant PI” and “would’ve ended” the Falcons’ comeback attempt. A penalty would have set the Bucs deep in Falcons territory late in the game.
That roughing the passer on the Tom Brady sack was awful. No denying that. But the refs also missed a BLATANT defensive pass interference on the play before. So it evens out.
It actually marked the second of two missed pass interference calls on deep throws to Miller. Brady targeted him seven times for four catches and 35 yards.
Darlington wasn’t the only NFL analyst calling out the last missed pass interference on a throw to Miller. FS1’s Skip Bayless also said Miller “got blatantly interfered with” and noted that Brady “hit his head on the ground” during Jarrett’s roughing the passer call a play later.
Second Chance for Scotty
Miller previously had been viewed as a potential trade candidate or player to get cut amid under production since the 2020 season. He had 33 catches for 501 yards and three touchdowns in 2020, but his production dipped to five catches for 38 yards in 2021 amid a severe turf toe injury. He also started the 2022 season quietly as he caught four of 13 passes for 38 yards before Sunday.
His workload increased on Sunday since the Bucs rested Chris Godwin extra in the second half due to prior injuries, Greg Auman of The Athletic reported. Auman called it a “big bounce back” for Miller after a “healthy scratch behind [Cole] Beasley last week” against the Kansas City Chiefs.
With injuries to Julio Jones and Breshad Perriman plus Beasley’s sudden retirement, Miller could have more opportunities to keep proving himself.
Miller, Jarrett Not The Only Controversial Calls
Referees simply missed many calls in the Bucs-Falcons game, Auman reported.
Auman highlighted a missed call when Falcons tight end pulled Bucs defensive back Antoine Winfield Jr.‘s jersey, which prevented a tackle before Falcons running back Avery Williams‘ touchdown.
Missed calls all over Bucs-Falcons on Sunday. Here’s Falcons’ first touchdown, and a pretty clear hold by Falcons TE Parker Hesse on Antoine Winfield to spring Avery Williams for an 8-yard score. They miss a lot.
The Bucs also fell victim to a 15-yard roughing the pass in the game when defensive tackle Vita Vea got caught in a tough spot. Auman pointed out that “Falcons guard Chris Lindstrom is pushing him toward [Marcus] Mariota on the play, and Vea just runs into the quarterback after the throw”.
Here’s the play where Vita Vea drew a 15-yard penalty for roughing the passer. Falcons guard Chris Lindstrom is pushing him toward Mariota on the play and Vea just runs into the quarterback after the throw.
Amid the officiating controversies from Sunday, the Falcons simply keep the referees busy throwing flags, and it has gone both ways. Atlanta has “drawn the third-most penalty yards from opponents in the league at 303 in five games” Auman reported. The Falcons also have a league-high 134 net penalty yards, Auman noted.
“So any argument that they don’t inherently get flags is unfounded,” Auman wrote.
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Bucs Handed a Different Blown Call vs. Falcons, NFL Analyst Says