The poor officiating was the biggest storyline to come out of the Bears’ 29-27 loss to the Steelers on Monday Night Football.
Chicago registered 12 accepted penalties for 115 yards, and there were plenty of questionable calls and no-calls that left NFL fans perplexed about how one-sided the officiating was at Heinz Field.
There were plenty of questionable calls throughout the game, but the most egregious was the taunting call on Bears outside linebacker Cassius Marsh following his sack in the fourth quarter that set up a Steelers field goal, which ended up being the difference in the game.
Marsh, a former Steeler, was flagged for taunting following the sack when he looked toward the Pittsburgh sideline, even though the camera showed he clearly wasn’t taunting.
“I think that one was just bad timing,” Marsh said. “It’s pretty clear to everybody who saw it that I wasn’t taunting. I’ve been doing the celebration my whole career. It’s just sad to see stuff like that happen in a close game like that.”
There was one thing in particular that’s caught everyone’s eye when Marsh was jogging back to the Bears sideline and there was contact with official Tony Corrente, which prompted him to throw the flag.
On the taunting penalty, Cassius Marsh says he was hip checked by referee Tony Corrente. He watched the video and called it, “Incredibly inappropriate.”
Corrente said he was unaware the contact occurred.pic.twitter.com/4SFCIEhPow
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) November 9, 2021
Marsh said that Corrente “hip checked” him, and that a player would get ejected for initiating contact. But he didn’t.
“I just think that was incredibly inappropriate,” Marsh said.
It was another strike against the most controversial new penalty this season, especially given it ultimately cost the Bears a potential win.
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