There’s a common pattern when it comes to bad calls in NFL officiating. The team that believes it was hosed complains. The team that was aided by the error stands silent.
On Sunday in Batimore, a pair of fourth-quarter plays introduced renewed confusion into the catch rule. Both negatively impacted the Ravens. Both helped the Steelers salvage a much-needed win.
The Ravens understandably were upset. The Steelers have been understandably quiet.
“You know, it’s always been debatable,” coach Mike Tomlin told reporters on Tuesday regarding the ruling that wiped out Isaiah Likely’s go-ahead touchdown with 2:47 to play. “It seems like — I’ve just learned to kind of move on, to be quite honest with you. I moved on from Jesse James, for example. I don’t even know what year that was. [Editor’s note: 2017.] There are going to be controversial calls in big games. I think I always focus my energy on making enough plays to minimize that in terms of determining the outcome of the game. That’s why you won’t hear me calling New York postgame for explanations and things of that nature. You guys asked me that, maybe earlier in the year regarding something. It’s not going to change the outcome. I just work to keep moving, and I just like to put together a comprehensive enough plan and make enough plays, where the game’s outcome doesn’t hinge on one play or a couple of plays.”
But it still can. All the preparation and effort can go out the window, thanks to one — or two — bad calls.
So, given the replay ruling that Aaron Rodgers made a catch (when he apparently didn’t) and that Isaiah Likely didn’t make a catch (when he apparently did), does Tomlin understand the current catch rule?
“I do,” Tomlin said. “I just think that I just think that football is so bang-bang and exciting. I think that’s why our fans love it. It’s a difficult game to play because of the speed. It’s a difficult game to officiate. I think as a collective, we have some things in place that kind of, you know, protect us all in an effort to get things right. Ruling that catch a touchdown makes it automatically reviewable, where I don’t have to decide to challenge, etc. And so there’s a lot of things in place, interrelated variables relative to that discussion.”
The more likely reality is that Tomlin isn’t questioning the rulings because they helped his team retake control of the AFC North. And his handling of the situation isn’t surprising. That’s what teams do when a bad call for the opponent creates a good outcome.
But, as Chris Simms said on Wednesday’s PFT Live, it would be refreshing — and useful — for the team that benefitted from a bad call to call it what it was. As to the Rodgers catch, the rule regarding maintaining possession through the act of going to the ground was ignored. As to the Likely non-catch, the rule regarding acts common to the game other than taking a third step with possession (extending the ball, warding off an opponent) was disregarded.
As to both plays, the replay standard was misapplied.
Here’s the reality for Tomlin and the Steelers. The same uncertainty that the league office has now reintroduced into the process of deciding whether a catch was or wasn’t made could sting the Steelers, at some point.
Tomlin’s overall approach to bad calls is extremely pragmatic. However, he can both accept the outcome of a given ruling while questioning its accuracy — or admitting its inaccuracy.
Given the two plays, everyone expected Ravens coach John Harbaugh to have a gripe. No one expected Tomlin to say, “You know, the rule wasn’t properly applied.”
If he had, that would have created real momentum to get the catch rule cleaned up, quickly. Because the end result is that, years after the NFL supposedly fixed the catch rule, it’s broken all over again.
